You may have noticed that the first several paintings have been on black, or very dark, backgrounds. This is intentional. I did enough drawing and reading on white paper. When we all started using graphical interfaces, all the windows were white of course. It’s actually bad for our eyes, but so many people are used to it to the point that if something isn’t on a light background they don’t know how to take it. I think I like dark backgrounds because it’s easier on my eyes, my brain and it’s a little minor rebellion I suppose.
Although, technically, look at the way light scatters. When you look at a dark line on a white background, the line will appear slightly smaller than it actually is. The reverse is true when the line is light on a dark background. So, not only are dark backgrounds less bright and easier to look at, but lighter text appears larger on it.
I will not avoid light backgrounds though and I wanted to experiment with how i would handle the transition between the two styles of painting. Like so many of my other paintings, this started out with the intention of being monochromatic. However, I do like color too much so I had to play with blending. Blending is still new to me in an oil paint fashion.
Since the last painting involved tracing, I decided that I would just see what happened when I just let whatever come out. I wanted to paint something more like a day lilly, a flower we have several of around our property, and that was what I was thinking of. If it does not look like that kind of flower to you, well, that is because I did not try very hard.
You will notice that my paintings can be very different from each other in subjects, perhaps treatments and I may or may not be developing a style. This is because I’ve been piling up ideas for things I have wanted to try for a very long time. A few of these things I was able to try in photography, a few more in raytracing but there’s still a lot more in my head. I am hoping that eventually I will run out but so far I keep finding new ideas.
As I post more of these paintings, you well see both light and dark as I explore both painting methods. Each style takes on a different way of looking at your subject. You could, if you wanted, achieve the same result but getting there could be very different in execution. To show that would take a slideshow or a video and I am not quite ready to do either.
