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I've been digging in to thumbnailing lately. I’m just creating shapes in 2 or 3 values, focusing on design principles of balance and contrast at this point, rather than assigning content to the shapes. The shapes could be anything really, the only organizing principle is how the pattern of contrast and form is working together. This keeps the stakes really low and open- there is nothing to preserve or loose at this point. Success is as simple as coming up with something that feels fresh or surprising, like something I haven’t drawn before. Keep it quick, small, and move on. Inevitably, my mind warms up and I begin to think about whatever story or reference is on my mind. In this case I was looking at the painting on the left The Intruder by Andrew Wyeth. I was drawn to the break in the tree line that reveals the sky and to the splash of highlights that lead over the water’s surface, into the immediate foreground. I also was looking at this old picture of a conifer tree behind a large boulder. I like them together, one mostly light, one darker, together they seem to be separate moments of the same story.
I pushed the shapes around until I came up with this little environment thumbnail. It’s not much yet, but I see the potential and I trust it’s architecture already in this state. I assume that I’m seeing more than is actually there, or perhaps something different than what someone else might see in it, but that’s the point of keeping it vague-ish and open. There are more possibilities at this point than anything else. |
AuthorI'd like to share my process including research, designing an image, painting studies, and final painting techniques using both traditional media and digital tools. I am an artist and illustrator with diverse interests including concept art and children's illustration. Archives
March 2020
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