What am I communicating in a painting?

Erin Hanson Newsletter No images? [Click here]( [The Erin Hanson Newsletter]( What I Choose to Communicate Dear {NAME}, When I am staring at a blank white canvas, I have an infinity of possiblities before me. I often get asked how I decide what to paint next, so I thought you'd like to hear my thoughts on the subject. I usually have a painting concept narrowed down to a general scene I want to paint, such as "when I was hiking down into the Grand Canyon." I often have hundreds of views and compositions to choose from among the photo references I took when I was out in the field. How do I narrow my options down to the single painting I am going to create next? It is all a question of communication. I come up with a single factor I am going to focus on in the painting. In the Grand Canyon painting above, the communication is, "Look at the contrast between the sun-lit regions and the shadowed regions." Suddenly composing the painting and designing the color field becomes easy. I put immense detail and focus on the manzanita tree in the foreground, since it is the brightest object, and I let the background blur into indistinct shapes of color. The immediate background behind the tree is aquamarine blue, the perfect color to make the golden-orange glow of the tree stand out. I don't worry about details in the canyons - my focus is on showing the two distinct color blocks: a soft orange color where the light is, and a blue-purple color where the shadow is. I let the canyon shadows merge together into an abstract mass with only slight hints showing where the canyon walls are located. When you squint at the painting, all you really see are horizontal bands of light orange against a graduated background of blue. Communication accomplished. Another communication I might focus on is, "Look at how the oak trees appear to create a circle around a disappearing path." Again, I am able to simplify a complex landscape into a simple concept. As I was walking down this path in Paso Robles, I took photos of the trees from a distance, took photos as I was walking underneath them, and again looking back at them as I passed the grove. Any one of these photos could have led to a totally different painting. However, with my focus on creating the illusion of a circle around a disappearing path, my thought process became: 1. the oaks must appear darker than the distant path and sun-lit hillside beyond, 2. the path must be visible between the boughs of the trees, and must appear to be turning a bend in the road, 3. the shadows across the foreground must complete the circle of the tree boughs. I decided to center the path on the canvas, and I added a dwindling fence to create an additional sense of drama and focus on the road. Again, when you squint at the painting, you mostly see a dark circle with a lighter area in the middle. This is the process I use to create all my paintings. I am always searching for new communications to use in my art, but often the communication is as simple as, "Look at how big the sky looks in comparison with the land!" or "Look at how red those rocks look against the blue ocean," or "Look at how much motion is in those desert grasses." The idea is to simplify the complexity of the landscape and to isolate a factor that brings focus to all my painting decisions on (color, composition, frame, brush strokes, rhythm, detail, etc.) In this way, each painting I create is truly a unique work of art. And now, I am off to my next creation... Best, Erin Hanson [Facebook]([YouTube]([Instagram]([Pinterest]( The Erin Hanson Gallery in Oregon 1805 NE Colvin Ct McMinnville, OR 97128 (503) 334-3670 The Erin Hanson Gallery in Carmel San Carlos between 5th and 6th Carmel, CA 93921 (831) 574-1782 Please call or text us at the number above to make an appointment at the gallery. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to Erin Hanson's artist newsletter. [Unsubscribe](