21st Century Reducing Glass

 

Photo: Ewan McClure

I have written previously about the reducing glass (pictured above).  It is the opposite of a magnifying glass--it can be held up to a painting to reduce a large area to a small view.  The idea is that is helps you see the work as a whole, in one glance, rather than getting caught up in details.  The reducing glass has been an artist's tool for decades (maybe centuries?).

Photo: Art Apprentice Online

Now along comes the smart phone, complete with digital camera.  There are a lot of apps that painters can use on their phones, from value finders to composition grids and more.  Personally, I don't use any of those.  But I do use the camera on my iPhone as a modern day reducing glass.  One quick click, and a 30 x 40 inch painting appears on the phone as a 2 inch image.  Quite amazing, really.  Check out how it works with the two images below.

It is astonishing what you can learn when your painting is reduced to a thumbnail size like this.  You can quickly see the major masses or shapes, and the overall pattern of lights and darks.  Those are the things that make or break a painting!  Yet so often we get caught up in drawing a tree or a fence that we lose track of the big picture.  Camera (aka "reducing glass") to the rescue! (There is a life lesson here.  Something about seeing the forest for the trees...).

And I might add:  how many times have I thought a painting was completed, but when I photographed it for my website, and looked at the image on a little digital screen, I saw a glaring problem?  Countless times!  Then it's always back to the easel.  I think we should all add the smart phone camera to our list of favorite studio tools...