Exploring Pictorial Space
Last year I completed an online course with American artist Zoey Frank. Her work has always fascinated me!
Image credit: www.zoeyfrank.com
Sandwich #7 2018
The course I completed with her was on the artists’ use of pictorial space, in other words the way artists use the 2D surface to depict a 3D world. Each era of art history has used a different approach to creating the illusion of space in a painting. This is done through a variety of techniques and really brings to life the painting surface itself, creating a narrative on the canvas, rather than simply representing the world as we see with our own eyes.
This concept of playing with pictorial space has fascinated me for so long, but it took me a while to develop the ability and confidence to explore it in my own work. The first being the below painting ‘Mulberries and Chamomile’. My goal with this painting was to tell a story with the elements arranged on the table. If it was all in perfect perspective you may look and go ‘wow’, but would you really ‘look’. With the table distorted and somewhat tipping the objects forward toward the viewer it almost demands some more exploration. The yellow glove sits forward and seems to float on top of the work as if you could reach out and grab it before it falls. Some elements have shadows, others, like the chamomile flowers, I deliberately left floating on the surface like a beautiful illustrative pattern laying over the work. And to give the painting the overall space it needs for the viewer to rest with it a moment, I painted the background in a very atmospheric way, creating depth.
The second piece I completed, again exploring pictorial space in this same manner, is ‘Gifts From The Sea’. In this work I tipped the table forward in the same way I did for ‘Mulberries and Chamomile’. Then worked to arrange each shell in a way that allowed exploration of the surface of the painting and each shell in it’s own right. I enjoyed lining up the stripes of the material to the stripes on the shell, playing if you will with the elements to create something aesthetically intriguing and satisfying.
AND in very exciting news this painting ‘Gifts From The Sea’ has been selected as a Gallery Finalist in the Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Awards. This gallery represents exceptional talent and this competition in particular attracts 1000’s of entries. Needless to say I am very happy to be recognised in this way for this painting! Exploring creativity takes courage and often us artists throw things around hoping for somebody to like our work. I mean that is the goal, following personal satisfaction from the creative process we then want to share our creations with the world! We say here I am, look at this, and lay our soul bare. So when a prestigious gallery says ‘yep that’s great, drop it off and we will hang it in our gallery space amongst other AMAZING artists’… wow.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Does the distorted perspective challenge your eye? Do you explore the painting more because of the arrangement of each element?
I will be doing more of these over the year as I continue this exploration of pictorial space. If you would like to purchase any of these works or stay in the loop for upcoming releases, be sure to jump on my mailing list.
Sarah x