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« Deliberation: Step 6
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Deliberation Step 7

del7-1

As I mentioned, I was unhappy with the flat concrete wall almost the second I finished it.  Yes, it was busy, but I also thought it was making the figure look a little crowded.  Still, I was limited in what I could place behind the Woman by the reflections in the Floor.  Eventually I realized that a cylindrical concrete column would fit the basic shape of the reflections, but would also push back into space and open up the room so the figure wasn’t all crammed into the corner.  I also determined to keep the texture of the concrete fairly smooth, and let the play of light around the column add the interest.   I think it was a huge improvement.

As for the vista behind the column, I had originally intended to incorporate an arched bridge of some kind to continue the curve formed by the figure’s leg.   However, I was so happy with the figure, and had been so decidedly unhappy with the way the flat, busy concrete had competed with her that I elected to keep the entire background as clean and simple as possible.    A blue sky with a few white clouds would play off the white shirt and blue skirt, and let the woman be the only focal point in the entire composition.  I also really liked the new aesthetic that was emerging with the long vertical lines of the column and its reflection, and the long horizontal of the floor.  It again focused everything on the figure, now the only non-linear component in the picture.
The changes to the concrete and the addition of the sky finished the painting.  I am still extremely happy with the final result, even more so than if I had kept to my original concept.  Unfortunately, my original title ideas along the lines of ‘Arch’ or ‘Structure’ now wouldn’t work.  But the figure’s posture, pose and facial expression suggested to me a person on the cusp of making an important decision.  Once the word ‘Deliberation’ came to mind it seemed to fit the mood of the painting perfectly.

As always, I am more than happy to answer any questions or hear any comments about ‘Deliberation’, my methods, my thoughts on Art in general or any of my other pieces.

Thanks for reading.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 7:51 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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About Bryan Larsen ~

Bryan Larsen

"I was born on February 12, 1975, and have been drawing as long as I can remember. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be an artist, although at the time I didn't have a clear idea of how exactly I would use my talents to make a living.

"As I continued studying art, I began to suspect that fine visual art was dead. No one seemed interested in teaching students how to draw well, or paint well. More often than not, my own skills exceeded those of my instructors.

"The only field left that seemed to require good drawing, painting, and compositional skills was illustration, and therefore I began studying illustration at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. I became even more convinced that I had made the right decision in staying away from fine art as I endured course after course of required "drawing" and "painting" classes in which instructors required me to draw with "less focus", or use ridiculous materials such as shellac, glue, sand, salt, etc.

"My second year at Utah State, I met Damon Denys. In discussing Art with him I realized that there were other people who believed that technique and subject matter were indispensable components of any work of art. I then decided that I would work to develop my own painting skills with the purpose of creating artwork that I considered worthy of being called Fine Art.

"Since that time, I have studied on my own: Drawing from live models to learn the human form, studying proper painting techniques from any source I could find ample reason to trust, and developing a philosophy of Art based on reason, and life on earth.

"My goal is to portray the heroic and romantic in human nature and human achievement in a realistic style and a modern setting. I place particular emphasis on composition, technique, realistic detail, proper craftsmanship and consistency of style."