While Playing Hookey

On the way to doing the banking a fellow artist did this painting.  Total time, less that 30 minutes.  One large brush.  Now, most people shudder at quick painting.

A Corner of the Pond, 10x12, Oil on Board

The time included a thumbnail sketch after considering a concept for the painting.  So look at what has been achieved.  The power point of the painting is alive and well.  The eye goes there for a few reasons.  Light, the eye is drawn to it.  Value contrast, the eye is drawn to it.  Hard edges, the eye is drawn to it.  The detail is primarily inferred.  Just look at the incomplete and broken nature of the reflections in the middle of the picture - the eye fills in the detail and the viewer is involved in telling the story.  There is mystery in the darks.  The greens are just here and there - not over powering.  One vertical reflections is weakly drawn, the other left out - it works.  There are transparent passages, opaque passages, translucent passages for variety.  The scene is simplified so it makes sense artistically.  It is often about what is left out.

For comparison, here is a photo of the scene.  Many painters are stumped trying to make a painting out of this.

Simplify This

When asked, the artist was going to keep working on the painting.  However, when asked about the concept, it was obvious that the intention had largely been met.  One could add a few edge changes and a spot or two of paint.  However, that is best left for another painting in a series for this motif.