Time flies, and this painting took a lot of it. I have been putting a lot of effort into the coastal work that people appreciate here in Florida. But, a more architectural view of fictional rural territories/countrysides has never been forgotten. Like the WHERE THE LEMON TREES BLOOM Series, the PROVINCES are imagined. I do not work from photos or have a specific view in mind. The two series are different in that I am arranging architectural manmade elements instead of the elements of the natural environment. They beg for the viewer's contribution of personal experience. Perhaps, you have been here or perhaps you imagine yourself there. That is the idea.
The hours of alone time with this large painting has prompted questions. Why and how am I able to I justify my decisions. These are decisions I am not aware I am making while I am engrossed in my task, but have learned to question in my quest to be a better painter. I have always maintained that cheating for art is justified. My "style" of painting requires freedom. Recognizing that an actual decision was made was just the start of the lesson.
. As is true of most of my work, the eye finds a way to read and make sense of the arranged shapes. In this painting, straight lines of cascading walls and roofs are juxtaposed to blur each structure. Aware of this specific action, of hinting or obscuring, that is completely natural to me, I got to thinking.
If you have ever read one of the Facebook posts that show scrambled English words are often just as easy to read as the original words, then you may understand how my work is similar.
Why does scrambling letters still get the point across?
How is it similar to "reading" my art?
1. The words need to be relatively short.
Too much information leads the viewer. You may have heard it from me before, "More information with less detail."
2. Function words (be, the, a, and other words that provide grammatical structure) can’t be messed up, otherwise the reader struggles.
I apply this to my own compositional structure. Bigger, more detailed, larger strokes--the eye knows reads-CLOSER. Mix that up and the viewer struggles.
3. We understand scrambled words better when their sounds are preserved: toatl vs. talot (for “total”).
Preserve the biggest visual clue, the horizon. If there is a perceived horizon, it will always read as a landscape. I can only stray so far from it without losing the viewer's understanding.
4. Here’s a big one: the passage is readable because it’s predictable (especially because we’ve seen it so many times)!
YES! That is how your personal experience of a landscape adds to my art.