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the dandenongs, victoria, Australia
an artist and it solution architect living in the temperate rainforest of southeastern australia

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

vineyard days


so i sit here contemplating. i have this painting. i thought it was ok. then i posted it on facebook and BAM - lots of response - from people who don't even know i am a painter or even follow my work in any way. so. i guess it strikes some sort of a chord somewhere. i decided to look at it again. why does a painting work? why does this painting work? that cannot be answered in a sentence. or even two.

some theories. broken color. breaking a color with its complement creates excitement. Nick does it naturally - but keeps saying he does not understand color theory. fine Nick. you understand it in your soul. look closely at the foliage of the tree. yeah - it is green - but look closely and you will see reds. and yellows getting down with violets in there also. composition. the purists will hate this composition. but it works despite breaking rules. why. no answer. the purists don't always get it right. the sky. this is a very australian sky. a very autumnal sky. this sort of sky intensifies the chroma of the foreground. whereas, a summer sky washes out the color.

those are my crackpot theories. enough.

3 comments:

perugina said...

Hi Joel,
I cannot answer your questions here on why some paintings work and others do not. I know nothing about colour theory either.
I have enjoyed reading your post to accompany this your latest watercolour work. Your very Australian/autumnal sky works for me and who doesn’t like a vineyard? Those acres of land ribbed by these plantings which produce a drink we call in Vino Veritas - meaning in wine (there is the) truth. This watercolour reminds me of beautiful Italy. L’albero - the tree providing a canopy to lunch under and la casetta - the little house where the magic is created! How could you not love this painting!
pg

Nick said...

Crackpots unite! True, I don't know anything about a lot of that stuff, but looking is believing. Seemed necessary, however, to delve into the technical mysteries of music, I think there's more to know before you can speak the language at the desired level. Though not all would agree...hence, the punk revolution with a bunch of kids saying "we don't know how to play, but we're gonna go out in public and learn."
You've seldom followed strict rules in your pictures, and that is part of the appeal of your art.

joel said...

PG! Hi and thanks for the thoughtful thoughts. I thought you were going away for a while? i am glad to see you back! yeah - i should make comments more often about what i am thinking. as Karl Pilkington says, "i find that if i keep on talking my brain eventually comes out with stuff...". vineyards are beautiful and the victorian ones even look like they are in Italy!

Nick! glad to see that you have finally washed ashore! good point about the punk - that is so true. i remember wondering what the heck they were up to. and now i see it for the true energetic sense of expression that was the core of the movement.

sometimes i feel similarly energized and that is (often) when i paint best.

:)

-- Joel.