A painting requires a little mystery,
some vagueness, some fantasy....
Edgar Degas
Yes, that's a repeat quote...it seems to resonate with me these days. I'm liking my paintings unfinished or at least more unfinished than I am accustomed. I'm not sure why...perhaps I like the vagueness or perhaps I am afraid of ruining them with too much forced detail. But it seems like I want to quit earlier than before.
Here's an example.
On the Marrakech theme: Hiking in the Atlas Mountains was an especially memorable day for many reasons. One of which was this man shepherding his goats. He barely moved but his eyes were everywhere and he cautiously watched me as I approached. I paused to get my breath, survey the goats (who were prancing over the steep mountainside) and I screwed up my courage to indicate via pantomime my question about taking his photo. He barely nodded. I clicked. And we went back to our business. It was with fond memories I approached this depiction.
roughed in
defining the shadows
calling it done
And I'm going to leave it there. Perhaps the background could have been even more unfinished. And by "finished" I mean the "addition of detailed definition." It is the tendency of many painters to paint every leaf on every tree. Lately I have been thinking about which trees to indicate and which ones to leave out altogether.
I will be exploring this "unfinished business" more thoroughly in the weeks ahead. Maybe I should call it less finished as opposed to more unfinished?? Degas had it correct with "a little mystery, some vagueness..."
Do you like it all spelled out in a painting or do you prefer filling in the details yourself?
COLOR FULLY EDITING,
Cindy
I like it "less finished," but I think you need a different term. Looser, less defined, or something like that. After all, it IS finished, it just doesn't have hyper detailed realism. I prefer it. It makes me study it more and mentally complete it for myself. I linger longer.
ReplyDeleteI agree! "Loose" is a term many artists use. Yet those who do not paint often ask if the piece is finished...meaning, are you going to add detail. So it is a lovely word conundrum that becomes a huge "aha" when a newbie realizes that "unfinished" is really "finished." Thanks for your clarifying input.
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