Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Less is More

I always want to fill the paper with color and details when I paint.  To leave some of the paper untouched and use negative painting is something I have  to deliberately work at.  There are plenty of studies that show that brain is very good at filling in the gaps of information -- but my brain needs to be reminded of that constantly when I am painting. In 'Birds', I experimented using bubble wrap, cardboard for pattern and texture.  I started the painting in one of the classes I was taking but as usual I  had a difficult time finishing it. I didn't know how to transfer the techniques demonstrated over to my painting. Slowly, over the course of a few weeks I defined and darkened a few shapes, and working hard at keeping the color and details to a minimum. I also learned to paint negatively.  Even when it seems illogical, often less is more. 

Birds watercolor 11x14"

6 comments:

Gallery Kuma said...

nice work. love your abstracts

Meera Rao said...

Thank you very much! For me abstracts are very challenging but fun to paint.

little green mango said...

Bubble wrap and cardboard?! From what I can see in this picture, it makes for a very interesting effect!

Meera Rao said...

thanks ! I had fun with it. I don't use those things nearly as much as I would like to --mainly because I often forget to :(

Heera said...

I like this technique. Wonder how it will work on cloth. Should be interesting to experiment. Nice work.

Meera Rao said...

Thank you! And Yes -- thats something for you to experiment on :)

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