Creating Space Using "Push Back"

So often in painting we have a situation in which there are several objects that are very close in tone and color and we wish to create a sense of space in a subtle way. Using a technique called the "push back" is a good solution.

If you have a painting that doesn't read the right way spatially, decide which objects in the painting need to be closer. Next, paint a halo of very pale cobalt blue (very watered down) around the closest object and blend the halo as it moves away from that object and across the rest of the painting. This subtle temperature change pushes the other objects back creating an illusion of space.



In my painting of Spruce Creek, I wanted to bring the windfalls on top to appear closer than the others and used this effect to push the rest back. These temperature changes are very important to create a sense of dimension and space in 2-D work. This glazing technique can be used in paintings of any subject from figurative to landscape. Give it a try!

Variation on a Theme - Kolob Canyon

These watercolors are a series of class demos based on southwestern Utah"s Kolob Canyon. Doing a series is always a great way to explore possibilities. These paintings used a variation of technique and value plans. Methods include watercolor and ink, masking, wet-in-wet, watercolor impasto, lifting and glazing.

My Spring 2011 newletter is posted on my website -
http://www.thomasjowen.com/news.html
It's Part 1 or a 2 part series about painting light and shadow. Enjoy!

The Art of the Ordinary

The dilemma of what to paint. Over the years I've wondered about it and faced it by looking for strong subjects everywhere I go. These subjects are around us all the time and it's a good exercise to find and paint them. I like to walk around with a small digital camera and point it in the direction of anything interesting. Later, I go through the images to see what grabs my attention.
Often I'll make paintings from compositions of several photos. Moving subjects around until I get a dynamic design is one of my goals. If your painting is only as good as your reference material, you may miss a feeling you want to convey. I let the reference be a spring-board from which I develop my ideas.

In this painting of a city maintenance crew, the men are working to repair stop lights after a storm. I let the reflections on the wet street as well as the rich warm colors against the grey backdrop tell the story. With a value plan of a large light with small darks in a field of midtones, the eye is drawn to the focal point of the worker carrying a cone and then around the painting.

Let Intuition Lead the Way

Many artists who have worked with young children notice that they have a natural ability to create effective design using contrast, shape and color. As children mature, their natural strength in design is often replaced by their desire to "get it right". Over the years, I've sought to return to these beautiful designs and subordinate hard facts to a more appealing design-oriented direction.

I like to set up paintings that allow me to discover new motifs. In the watercolor at the right, "Adirondack Chair", I used a color underpainting to achieve the variation in color and texture on the side of the building. My article in the April 2011 Watercolor Artist magazine entitled, "Setting the Tone" discusses methods for opening intuitive paths to successful paintings. Hope you get a chance to check it out.