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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Power

June Bounty   watercolor   14.5 x 18
It seems to me that most relationships, conversations and interactions are driven by power.......that is why I prefer to limit my interactions with a trusted few........those who understand a mutual give and take, a reciprocity that respects all parties. Same with paintings. To me, the picture plane represents the power potential.....all things within it must share the power. So, again, in my own opinion, the more things in the picture, the more the "picture power" must be shared. Last summer I conducted a watercolor class called "Summer Bounty" in which our goal was to paint the bounty of the season. The notion of bounty implies plenty and, in an effort to respect all artists, each artist brought one thing for the set-up each week. Too many opinions. Too much stuff. As I look back, our paintings had far too much stuff in them.....the power of the negative space was overlooked....a good harmonic balance was disturbed. I have learned from this experience. "June Bounty", I believe, was one of the more successful works, as its color palette was limited, making up for too many objects.