Reflections in the Water: I

I’m grateful that only 3-4 blocks away, another world waits.  The wild bushland park has surprises for me every visit.  This quiet realm of nature,  the perfect place to relax.

To become more creative. To fill the well.  See How It Can Be Done! 

 

Part #1 Reflections in the Water

I’ve divided this into a couple of posts to make it easier to get through!

 

 

Zen Strolls

Zen Strolls, never fail to work their magic for me.

These, fill the creative well.   Stir my imagination.  Feed my inner artist.

 

I like short zen strolls – with no hiking, no hills, no snakes, no huge crowds.

 

It is lovely to hear the birds. To feel the breeze softly move across my face. To watch a few dog walkers go by.

To just be outdoors, in fresh cool air, touching the ground and the things of the earth.

 

To breathe in……. and just relax.

 

 

 

Reflecting

The photograph of reflections in the water has quite a few important artistic elements in it.

At first glance we may not be really aware of them. But I’d like to point some of them out for you.

 

1. Have a good look at the tonal values.  There are plenty of light, mid, dark tones.
2. A full range of tones exist, helping to create depth and dimension.
3. The area of ultra light draws us In.
4. Those deeper ‘lines’ of Darks direct us throughout the image so that we are moving and travelling; not stuck, not static in the one place.
5. Have a look, at the warmer colors.  They are located more so in the front. In the foreground.
6. While the background gets progressively cooler, bluer and greyer.  This is great to remember while painting……..  if you do that, you’re more than half way to creating great depth and perspective for that painting!
7. The really fun part of this though, is when you Inspect the image.  Segment by segment.  Super closely. And begin to ‘see’  some wonderful shapes, images, designs and things ….Emerge.   I’ll leave it at that.  To save it for my Part #2 of Reflections of Water

 

 

 

 

I found this image relevant,  important because…………..

• We’re looking into the scene much more intently
• We’re looking with much more Imagination vs ‘representational rules’
• We’re actively, engaged With the image
• We’re allowing traditions to slide past us
• We’re seeing shapes and we’re seeing tones in Abstract ways
• We’re relaxing, into the image

All the things that help us, as artist grow and improve our skills.