Demonstration Painting...

The following is an excerpt from an unpublished art teaching article written by Joanna Terpstra for publication in "Australian Artist" magazine:

"THE POSITIVE POWER
OF NEGATIVE SHAPES"

PLEASE NOTE: This is a very long page which will take some time to read! You may prefer to download this page in PDF file format so that you can read it offline at your leisure...
Download Demonstration Painting PDF Now

Negative Shapes...

My favourite way to paint trees is to draw the negative shapes between the trunks, limbs and branches. So I am effectively drawing pieces of sky. The old adage "less is more" applies and the space between the positive shapes is as important, if not more so, than the positive shapes themselves, as can be seen in oriental art, especially in Japanese flower arranging where the emphasis is on the space around the single flowers, rather than the cluttered western idea of bunched flower arrangements.

"And let there be spaces in your togetherness."
-Kahlil Gibran

A good painting gives you room to breathe and relax. Think of the space in paintings by Turner and Whiteley. Another artist who comes to mind is Van Gogh, remember the negative shapes between his irises and sunflowers?

The more variety of negative shapes the better. Variety of shape and size in negative shapes gives interest to the painting and adds a very strong design element, giving direction and movement to the positive shapes.

DUALITY

We walk in the light
and sleep in the shadows
we try to be positive and avoid the negatives.
But after a while we learn
that there is shadow in light
and light in shadow and that without negatives
there would be no positives.
I look at the trees
and see such infinitely varied shapes
pieces of sky cut up
like mosaics of broken china
separated by branches and leaves.
And between each trunk
a chunk of scenery
of gossamer waves
and grassed dunes
and a headland jutting out to sea.
The shadows purple-blue
reflecting the light of azure sky
and always the rhythm
pulsating through life
from light to darkness
from positive to negative
duality keeping the balance.

© Joanna Terpstra 9-1-01

Looking at Trees...

"Normally we do not so much look at things as overlook them." -Alan Watts

The more real-Iife trees you observe and draw, the more convincing will be your paintings. Every tree and every variety of tree has different characteristics, not least of which is its environment. A wind-blown, salt-sprayed banksia growing on an exposed headland will look quite different from a banksia growing in a lush inland rainforest under a sheltering canopy, even if its leaf structure and bark are relatively the same. Trees have balance. A branch grows on one side to counteract the weight on the other side. When it becomes unbalanced, it falls over.

I can't emphasize this enough! Trees have CHARACTER! This is what Hans Heysen got so right and many of his copyists got so wrong. To invent a tree out of one's head, a generic brand tree, may be a convincing symbol of a tree and certainly has its place in art, but it will not resonate with the sea, or have all the quirks that mother nature gave it. To work from nature is to observe, observe, observe and then to observe some more! Don't take anything for granted. Make no assumptions.

"It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper understanding." -Vincent Van Gogh

In many ways, drawing is just the mark that's left on the paper from trying to understand graphically the living object in front of you. If you draw fast, the object will have movement, if you draw slowly, the object will be static. A tentative line makes a tentative picture. A bold line makes a bold picture. The drawing is a record of your physical response to the object or subject.

How you feel when you draw will be imbibed in the spirit of the painting. Everything is alive and after you put down the pastel, the painting has a life of its own. Just look at the art that has survived the artists who painted it in our museums and galleries.

Starting the Demonstration Painting...

Oh yes, back to the demonstration painting.....
I take a sheet of 510mm x 760mm 350gsm smooth etching paper, previously prepared with two brushed coats of matt black acrylic paint. I draw in the main shapes with grey pastel pencil, observing the shapes carefully and making corrections where necessary.

I am trying to focus on the spaces between the branches to get the negative shapes right so that the tree is drawn almost by default. This requires a change of gestalt, a shift in approach, and I find it refreshing to not just focus on the obvious. If I get the big shapes right, then the headland should fit quite well. If not, I just keep redrawing and learn more from this painting. If making mistakes is learning, I am very well educated!

Artist's Tip...

TIP: if it seems too hard and you just can't get it right, DO NOT start again on a fresh sheet of paper until you have worked it out. The best way out is through. If you get frustrated and throw your drawing in the bin, you have just missed out on a valuable learning experience. The result? You will either continue making the same mistake over and over again and end up with a very full bin and lots of wasted paper (how environmentally conscious is that?) or you will in future avoid that problem, and other problems, (taking the easy way out) until eventually you will be straight-jacketed into only working a certain way, thereby reducing your options.

Life without challenge or struggle is BORING. So, keep your life interesting and exciting by facing all the challenges like a warrior and you will find that doors open for you, you surprise yourself by how much you've learned, and your artwork will improve by leaps and bounds!

"You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is...unless it kills you, and then you have gone too far."
-Alice Neel

Finding the Right Colour...

The beauty of pastel is that you NEVER CAN find the right colour! If you could, your painting would be flat and lifeless. I like to put down one colour, (usually darker than the finished colour) rub it in with my fingers, spray with fixative, and then layer with scribbles and lines of warmer, cooler, darker and lighter shades and more colours. I like to put dabs and dashes throughout the painting to tie it together chromatically. In this painting I have combined yellow-greens with purple, and warm blues with cool turquoise-greens.

The artist's hands in her favourite boxes of well-worn pastels
Photo: Kevin Dixon

I like to clean my pastel tray before each painting so that I don't get into a habit of using the same old colours for each painting. (I said I LIKE to. Let me say here that I'd like to more often than I do!) I have about 900 different colours that I try to keep neatly arranged in order. Each time I use a colour it goes into my tray beside the painting I'm working on. For this painting I used about 80 different coloured pastels. I know because I counted them in the tray! So how's that for a limited palette? It's all relative. Every now and then I buy new colours and they certainly make a difference to my work.

If you have a big box of pastels already and you want to supplement them with more single pastels, consider purchasing some very pale shades of pigment that are almost white: pale violet, pale yellow, pale ultramarine or pale orange etc. They are so useful for skies, waves and highlights, lending subtlety and atmosphere where titanium white is just too stark. Zinc white is also useful if you want a transparent white rather than an opaque white, because it lets the under colour shine through.

Also, it's worth purchasing some pastels that appear virtually black, like an extremely dark pthalo blue, flinders blue-violet or deep gray-green. These almost black pastels are very useful for getting life and depth into dark shadows to overcome the deadness of straight carbon black or lamp black. When mixed with other colours they give brilliance rather than dullness.

You can use the warm darks and warm lights to bring things forward or create a warm ambience. Conversely, the cool darks and cool lights are useful for pushing things backward and create an atmosphere of cool spaciousness.

Painting the Same Subject...

Just because you've painted a subject once doesn't mean you can't paint it again. The beauty of nature is that its always changing and the view and the light is never the same.

Think of Monet and his cathedral series and his waterlily series. Paint something you love. That gives enthusiasm. Enthusiasm literally means being "filled with spirit". Think of Renoir and his nudes. Come back to the subject again and again. Always exploring. Always a challenge.

I'm not talking about becoming slick and mass-producing the same painting forever. Slick is what happens when you stop seeing, stop observing. Painting is a way of perception. You can't stay separate from your subject. You become it. It becomes you. You imbibe it. You understand in a deep intangible way that everything is connected. It"s like a pilgrimage to that special place inside of you.

Painting in Series...

The earlier painting in this series, "Angourie Point thru Banksia"
Pastel on acrylic on pasteboard, 640 x 510mm SOLD

You may have noticed that the demonstration painting, "Angourie Point thru Banksia II", is the second version of the same subject. My earlier painting "Angourie Point thru Banksia" (above) was reproduced in an article entitled "Getting High" in the November/December 2000 edition of "Pastel Artist International" magazine (No 6).

It might be worth comparing the two paintings. The view is from the same spot. I loved the view but felt that I hadn't done the most with the composition. It also lacked the depth I was after. I enjoyed having another go at it. The demonstration painting (the second in the series) is taller. I ask myself, "how much have I learned in the two years that have elapsed between the two paintings?" Sometimes the very fact of painting similar subjects lets you see your own development very graphically.

I was afraid of "churning out" replicas. What I have found is that if you make each painting a challenge - explore something new, try another approach, overcome an obstacle - then your paintings become more meaningful, your perception deepens and your paintings improve.

Strive to be authentic rather than original. Authentic is when you search your heart for a genuine response to the subject. Original can be just trying to be different, which doesn't work for long, because people will copy anything.

"Some writers confuse authenticity, which they should always aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about." -W H Auden

When I work in series I often see changes in my environment that are normally barely noticeable; dead trees where once was lush foliage, broken branches, shifting sands, bitou bush brought under control and plantings by Dunecare. Then there are the usual changes which play with the light and colour, like the time of day, seasons and weather. And then there is the way I see it...

I AM

I am the one
that was here before time.
I am the one
that is you and all that resonates
on this pulsating earth
and beyond.
I am a part of everything
and I am nothing.
I have imbibed
and will imbibe
and will be imbibed
by all that surrounds me.
I exist in circular time
part of the natural recycling
of all the elements.
My spirit is your spirit
it is the spirit of the earth
and the heavens
wrapped up in today
and yesterday
and every time to come.
With one soul we speak
our darkness and our light
our glory and our shame
our striving and our negligence
our love and our hate.
I am the one
that is all.

© Joanna Terpstra 9-1-01

 

Joanna Terpstra with gallery director Anne Dowd at the opening night of the "Soul of Australia" exhibition at the Art House Gallery in Brisbane with the finished demonstration painting
"Angourie Point thru Banksia II" SOLD
Now available as a Limited Edition Giclée Print
Photo: Robert Spence

See Picture Framing for how I framed this painting.

 

"Angourie Point thru Banksia II "
Step by Step...

1. SKY SHAPES

I draw in the main trunks and branches with grey pastel pencil on the black painted paper. Then I painstakingly draw the negative shapes of sky between the branches and twigs using a range of six ultramarine pastels from very pale to mid dark, as well as adding titanium white. I rub the blues in with my fingers to blend them, using my little "pinkie" finger for the tighter spots. I suppose I could use a cotton bud or stumps, but I'm not that fussy and besides, I like the broken quality of the edges which is reminiscent of the way sunlight breaks up forms, which is, after all, an effect I am after.

It is a slow process, with much confusing observation, but I think the end result is worth it. A tree with individual character, as solid as the earth that sprouted it. I aim for passages of pale clouds in a wispy moving blue sky which is quite common around Angourie headland. The darkest part of the sky is highest on the picture because it is closer.

As much as I try to stick to the "skyshapes", I find myself drawing in extra grey lines to help define the edges of the branches, re-drawing, making corrections and noticing all the bits I missed before. However the structure of the main shapes was accurate enough to place the more fiddly bits using mostly negative shapes.

 

2. OCEAN SHAPES

Working from the back to the front, I now insert the negative water shapes, leaving the headland as the next negative shape space. First I put in the white wave foam to conserve its paleness, using a cream pastel. Next, I draw up to the horizon line with the aid of my long stainless steel ruler, using very dark purple to give the ocean depth. Over this I apply deep ultramarine and deep cobalt blues and rub them in together using my little finger so as not to unduly smudge the horizon line edge.

I have to guard against just "colouring in". I try to be ever vigilant in my observation of each of these blue negative shapes, so that each of them is the right shape, proportion, colour and size. I have to turn off my natural focus on the tree trunks and force myself to see the pure isolated negative ocean shapes in between.

As I work down the page, I apply cooler blues, overlapping and rubbing them in. I finish with a teal which should make good base for later overlays of paler turquoises. It is difficult to maintain the edges with all the rubbing-in with my fingers, but I quite like the fuzzy edges. I like this stage of the painting too, with the bright shades of blue balanced against the stark jet-black of the painted paper.

 

3. HEADLAND SHAPES

Using olive green I block-in the grassed headland. I like to use "dirty" greens to contrast with the "pure" blues. I indicate the far headland trees with dark greens, apply beiges for the beach sand and dabs of dark browns for the rocks. So now the foreground tree and foliage are in stark silhouette against the distant background.

 

4. BANKSIA BARK

Because I want the lower foreground foliage to be darker than the subject tree, I only suggest the lights of the leaves with olive greens to maintain the tonal relationship at this stage.

Then I move straight onto the banksia! Working from the base up, (the natural way a tree grows) I scribble mid raw umber on the parts of the trunks and branches on which the light falls using the pastel end on.

I like to scribble trunks because it simulates the texture and direction of the bark as it winds around the tree. I definitely do not rub it in! The black of the paper peaking through under the raw umber pastel scribbles gives a nice broken texture.

I like to work on black paper, that way every mark adds light. On white paper, every mark dulls it and makes the painting darker. I tell myself I am painting with light. It is a comforting thought.

 

5. PURPLE LIGHT IN THE SHADOWS

The thing I love about tree trunks is the way the light falls on them, describing their roundness and texture. The cast shadows indicate the direction of the sun's rays as well as describing the position of the limbs in space and hint at other trees outside the picture plane. In the shadows lurk reflected lights.

I study the painting so far... (see step 4.) The colour is bright but the tone is too dark. So I need to lighten up the headland and water and soften the dark shadows on the tree and foreground foliage. I am happy with the dark black overhead branches as they provide a counterbalance to the heavy dark foreground. Once the foreground foliage is lightened up the disparity between the top and bottom should be evened up.

I add dark payne's gray to the tree trunk shadows to soften them. I introduce a variety of green into the foreground, lifting the sombreness. I apply a paler olive green over the grassed dunes to lighten them. I scribble deep purple and indanthrene blue-gray over the tree shadows to add interest and integrate them into the picture. Then I outline the shadow sides of the tree trunks in pure dark black to to pull the tree forward, separating it from the background and defining it.

I scribble very pale raw sienna into the tree trunks for bark highlights, increasing the contrast on the tree to bring it forward. I apply very pale spectrum yellow over the beach sand to lighten it.

I then decide the horizon line is too dead straight so I curve it slightly using the steel ruler at slight angles. I add turquoise to the shallows. The trunks and headland rocks lack warmth so I scribble and dab-in indian red to warm them up. The parts seem disparate so I scribble in mid dioxazine purple throughout the painting to tie the picture together.

 

6. FUSSY FINISHING

The trick to finishing a painting is being fussy! Deciding what you want and don't want. Studying the painting to ascertain which bits work and which bits don't. Fussy does not mean detail for the sake of detail. It does not mean "being tight". It means deciding which marks to make and not to make and getting a feel for what is "right". It may mean letting a painting sit for some time (not so easy when you are painting on-site). To keep on vigorously reworking a painting at this late stage can be disastrous and relegate it to the bottom drawer along with other misadventures.

So, feeling my way intuitively, I make considered changes. They may only be small refinements but they take the most time, balancing one element against another to make the picture work. Some changes are discerningly subtle! I introduce bright coloured scribbles and dabs into the foreground to lift the foreground foliage. For this I use a variety of bright chrome greens, turquoises, magenta and yellow-green ochre.

I apply soft titanium white over the waves, emphasizing the crest and dragging it across the water in a scumble, letting the blue shine through from underneath. I increase the contrast on the tree trunks by adding extremely dark blue-violet into the shadows and scribbling the very palest spectrum yellow onto the bark highlights.

Now for the zen of overhead banksias! I like the broken quality of the light through the twigs and the dark weight of them, however, this appears flat next to the depth of the rest of the painting. So, painstakingly and over some considerable time (patience is a virtue, I remind myself) I redraw the top foliage, observing it as carefully and as accurately as I can, introducing more black, extremely dark pthalo blue for the leaves, and extremely dark blue violet for some of the branches.

I add highlights in pale raw umber and pale winsor yellow to pick out sunlight glinting off twigs and branches and to introduce the third dimension of overlapping limbs amidst the darkness of what is essentially an overhanging silhouette within shadow. Of course, this necessitates redrawing some of the sky shapes and introducing some more. I also add white to the lower clouds and use the palest ultramarine violet over the streaky clouds to warm them up.

I sign the painting in turquoise and leave it to sit for a while. This is an important stage in the painting. If you are in a hurry to whiz it off to the framers for an exhibition, you will probably find something wrong with it the moment it is framed. I have learned to only enter finished paintings in competitions, or have enough on hand for exhibitions, to take the pressure off. There is no point running around like a chook with its head off trying to finish work in a hurry! Remind yourself it is only just a picture on a wall, after all, and relax. Its much more fun that way!

So I usually stand the painting up somewhere I can see it all the time. I'm lucky enough to have a studio I work in almost every day so I just perch it somewhere prominent so I can rest my eyes on it while working on other paintings. I call it "time out". You can get so wrapped up in your painting that you get lost and can't see the woods for the trees. So a little dose of nonattachment goes a long way in resolving the actual finishing-off of the painting.

Some artists find it helps to put a temporary mat or frame around the unfinished painting, so they can check it against a neutral background. Some like to perch the painting on the piano (if they have one!) or on the sideboard or by the television. Friends and neighbours can be helpful or destructive with their comments. No one likes to be criticized. Learn to grow a thick skin and only take the constructive comments to heart. I am fortunate in that I get a lot of feedback from visitors to my Studio Gallery. Luckily, most of them are polite!

 

7. PAINTING FINISHED!

I put a double mat of indigo and ivory and a walnut frame around the painting to observe it. Within minutes it was obvious that the deep blue ocean was too distracting so I overlaid it with lighter blues and turquoises. A few more light dabs in the front foliage and it is done. I spray with fixative to seal.