Style Spectrum

Just put the right colours in the right place.  That's all there is to it.  When I am teaching I ask students to consider how they are going to paint in terms of "style".  When added to a few other factors it is a great aid when helping a person get to where they want to go.

The spectrum might be broken into 10 segments starting with super realism (a copy from the live model/still life/landscape.  The second segment might be photo realism (a copy from the reduced truth of a photo), third, as the eye sees shapes, values, colours and edges.  Number four as in three with the addition of impressionism (your impression).  Add colour abstraction and composition additions and deletions and you have segment 5.  For segment 6 add distortion and simplification.  For segment 7 add imagination and added simplification.  Reduce the simplified objects and further distort them and you have segment 8.  For segment 9 just imply objects and for segment 10 eliminate the objects.

Credit at Hi Noon, 11x14, Oil on Canvas

So, what segment number might you apply to this image of the Credit River done at noon?

The image was done with a #12 bristle filbert and a number 6 bristle filbert.  The palette was Ultramarine Blue, Viridian, Cadmium Yellow middle, Cadmium Orange, Alizarine Crimson and Titanium White.