More on cropping

Cropping can be a useful project when you're feeling blocked or don't have much time to paint. Last weekend I cut 60 small mats in assorted colors from scraps I begged from the framer. The openings ranged from 2" x 5" to 6" x 10" with 2 1/2" borders. I gave each student in my watercolor class two mats to play with on their old paintings.

This is a great way to train your eye to see design. Just a small nudge one way or another can make a big difference in a composition. Isolate areas that work, so they aren't diminished by the stuff that doesn't. You can cut out the cropped parts and mat them or just use this as an exercise to strengthen your design awareness.

My Logan mat cutter makes it easy to create small mats without measuring. I'm sure you can do it with the less expensive models, but I like the squaring arm on the 750 that assures correct alignment. I haven't cut mats for several years and thought it might bother my arthritic hands, but that didn't seem to be a problem at all.

Perception & Composition

That's the subtitle of Picture This, a book on design by Molly Bang published in 1991. As Rudolf Arnheim says in his introduction, this book is an eye-opener for adults. It isn't just a picture book for children. Yesterday I guided my watercolor class through the first part of the book, in which the author selects shapes and colors to represent some of the characters and settings for "Little Red Riding Hood," explaining why a small red triangle works for Red, but a big one is too unyielding for Mother and how to make the forest background of straight, vertical trees look more threatening by tilting the trees and leaning one over to frame a corner and close Red in. Each page is a startlingly simple visual representation of an easily digested design concept. I had forgotten I had this book until I was sorting books for my sale. I decided to try it out on my intermediate class, telling them I was going to read a bedtime story. (We meet after lunch--a good time for naps when I talk too long.) It was fun to watch the expressions on their faces as the design unfolded--the rapt attention of children would describe them, including surprise and delight at the turn of every page. I'll continue with the book in class over the next couple of weeks, as I think it's making important points in design that will stick with the students. Unfortunately, the book is out of print, but can be found online at used bookstores. It was reprinted in 2000 as Picture This: How Pictures Work and is available from booksellers in both hard and soft covers.

The artist must train not only his eye but also his soul. --Wassily Kandinsky

Painting must do for the eyes what poetry does for the ears. --Antoine Coypel (1720)

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. --Camille Pissarro

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside awakens. --Carl Jung

Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small it takes time. We haven't time and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. --Georgia O'Keeffe

To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place.... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. --Elliott Erwitt