Self-Forgivness

The following passage by E.H. Gombrich was a revelation to me, maybe an epiphany. I had been looking for a way to break out of my old habits when I found this. It became the central idea of a “Self-forgiveness Theory.” It says to keep trying, modifying, and correcting -- that the eraser is the tool of more expressive realism. In almost mystical terms: trying to create perfection is impossible, but forgiving yourself and your drawings for being imperfect and constantly refining your vision is possible.


“Seen in this light, that dry psychological formula of schema and correction can tell us a good deal, not only about the essential unity between medieval and post-medieval art, but also of their vital difference. To the Middle Ages, the schema is the image, to the post-medieval artist, it is the starting point for corrections, adjustments, adaptations, the means to probe reality and to wrestle with the particular. The hallmark of the medieval artist is the firm line that testifies to the mastery of his craft. That of the post-medieval artist is not facility, which he avoids, but constant alertness. Its symptom is the sketch, or rather the many sketches which precede the finished work and, for all the skill of hand and eye of the master, a constant readiness to learn, to make and match and remake till the portrayal ceases to be a second hand formula and reflects the unique and unrepeatable experience the artist wishes to seize and hold.”


Art & Illusion: A study in Psychology of Pictorial Representation, Page 173

-- E. H. Gombrich







Sunday, January 13, 2013


Quick Watercolor of Swamp


Here is the drawing and some of the first thoughts. I started with a light wash across the sky and a darker wash over the land (water). Instead of starting with the lights on the trees, I thought I would block in the shadows. I like the dance of shapes and marks that I have created.


Worked a little more on the trees and then went to the ground, breaking up the shapes with shadows and tonal variations.

Once I started to put the green washes onto the trees, I realized the painting was losing much of playful character of the underpainting, so I reinforced the shadows with much darker shades. I tried to drop warmer tones into the dark shadows to add variety. Using darker tones, I also tried to separate the layers of the trees. Something was still needed, so I added some lights in gouache. 


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