I use a reduction glass in the studio, on medium and large paintings – as I've mentioned before – it saves both time and energy and gives me a fresh take on work much as using other methods, such as squinting, or a mirror, and so on.
Another useful tool is a magnifying glass. This can be used in the studio to check your own work, and I like to keep a pocket size one with me to look closely at details on artwork in galleries and museums. It is amazing to me what I learn this way.
I recently saw an exhibition of Linden Frederick’s work – a collection of 6 inch squares of small towns and back roads seen at dusk. Realistically rendered landscapes, a few depict a solitary home or building, in which one can see tiny luminous reflections in the ¼ inch rectangles of a window pane. As these minute areas reflected the space behind the viewer, it had the effect on me of feeling right in the middle of the space even as experiencing a remoteness – as if I were an invisible giant. The magnifier revealed beautiful paint handling in even the very smallest sections. The experience I took away was of having walked around within a tiny painting as if I were also tiny and being able to step back and become huge and knowing, aware of the contents of the ‘scene behind me’ based on my glimpses at the reflections.
3 comments:
ohh wow...i just love Linden Fredericks paintings! The level of details does not change at all from his largest canvases to his 6x6 pieces...amazing!!
Thanks for the tip about reducing glasses. I'd never heard of them before.
The space I paint in is not very big, and as the size of my paintings increases I find myself with my back to the wall when I need a long view of the work.
I've had that problem! I've found myself outside peering in at the work through the window. Yes, the reducing glass helps.
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