Focal Point
UncategorizedWhat’s Your Focal Point?
Vermont Dairy
Driving slowly Down a Dirt Road in Vermont, past Black and White Cows grazing in Lush green fields, I pulled into an old Dairy Farm to meet a plein air painting group.
An old white farmhouse stood firm within a cluster of red barn buildings with peeling white trim.
Bumping along, avoiding mud puddles, I parked in front of the barn with the muddy tractors and rusting metal farm equipment.
We set up our easels in the driveway, Shooing away hens and petting the farmer’s dog.
The Sugar Maples blazed neon orange and reds, like a psychedelic neon 80’s dance party.
The vibrating fall colors popped against the shockingly bright blue sky – what locals call a Bluebird Day. Unbelievably beautiful.
New England Dooryard
Everywhere we looked, something called out to our attention.
Charming old farm tractors, antique trucks and wooden tools, Old fashioned horse carts and sleighs. Maple Sugaring Barrels.
It was a good old Vermont Dooryard.
A Dooryard is the area outside the Barn where things are piled up, strewn about, and generally allowed to grow old and rusted. The reason for the dooryard is that Vermonters don’t get rid of anything in case they might use it someday.
Vermonters have a saying – “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”.
In fact, if your yard is too tidy or your truck is too clean/unrusted, then local Vermonters are suspicious. You must be “from away” and not to be trusted.
Too much to Choose from
Among all this assortment, we looked around for a cohesive scene.
There was just so much to choose from. We were overwhelmed with detail. Our teacher simply said “Just pick a focal point and you will be fine.”
She set to work on a small red outbuilding with white trim an a old wooden porch. She loosely included the tractor and wood piles on the side, and painted the rusted “stuff” by adding dashes of paint here and there. It was all part of the scenery, with a driveway leading the eye in, and maples against a blue sky at the top.
The painting was a general scene from a farm, nice, but a little sleepy.
Until the Roo Showed up.
The Local Roo
The farm rooster came strolling around to check us out. He let us know he owned the place. Then he strutted his stuff, acting casual,hanging around to keep a sharp eye on us.
The farmer said in a Vermont accent “Ayuh. That roostah is named Mr. Handsome, thinks he’s the boss around heah”.
Our teacher said “Perfect! My focal point!” She quickly painted him in, bright and colorful, charming and so Vermont.
“He knew he wanted the Painting to be about him” She joked. We smiled at his rooster antics
The Proud Rooster became the Focal Point, and instantly the little painting jumped to life.
Strong Focal Point – Strong Painting
So, what exactly qualifies for a Focal Point?
An area that attracts the eye and demands the most attention.
A Focal Point makes your painting stronger, it conveys a focus of attention by the painter, and helps to convey a message.
The main tools used to emphasize the Focal Point are-
Contrast, Color, and Details.
Contrast Draws the Eye
Contrast can be Dramatic or Subtle. By using the highest contrast in the area around the Focal Point, the artist knows the viewer’s eye will be drawn to that area again and again.
Its biological and the eye cant help itself from doing it.
The Lightest Light and the Darkest Dark should be placed next to each other here.
Color Attracts, Details Enhance
The second tool an artist can use is Color. Specifically -Bright Intense Color. This is another biological reaction of the human eye, just as we are drawn to bright colored fruit and vegetables.
Exaggerating the color of a figure and their clothing is an example. At the same time, the artist can tone down the other colors surrounding the figure.
Another choice is to contrast the Warm colors against the Cool colors, and vice versa.
These are Design decisions that an experienced artist knows will automatically focus attention.
Details entertain the eye, as it takes in all the information. If a single flower is your focal point, then the eye will want to study all the details you have put in on the petals and leaves of the Focal Point flower.
The rest of the painting should be subdued in detail so allow the flower to shine.
Choosing a Focal Point
The initial decisions at the beginning of the painting should naturally include a decision about the Focal Point.
When you set up your easel and start cropping the landscape or sketching a thumbnail sketch, ask yourself some design questions.
What is the painting about and What draws you to the Scene?
What do you want to focus on? What do you want to leave out?
Choosing the Placement
This beginning stage is also the time to consider placement.
You can work it out in your sketchbook to begin with.
This gives you a roadmap to use as a reminder during painting, so you keep to the main idea you had at the start.
The rule of Threes is a good general rule to place your focal point.
Either a third of the way up, or a third of a way down, is a good idea.
Generally, avoiding the exact middle of the canvas is best, as its not as interesting to the eye as a focal point off center.
Leading the Eye
Leading the eye to the Focal Point can also increase its pull on the viewer.
Is there a road, or a path, that you can use to lead into the scene?
In Vermont, the dirt roads are meandering old wagon roads that follow the curves of the landscape.
These are just the trick to capitalize on, as the eye will follow the road deeper into the painting, and be led right smack to the Focus that you decide on and linger there, admiring the contrast, color, and details that you purposely put in to entertain the viewer’s eye.
Entertaining
If you have led the eye, brightened up the colors, added contrast and details, the viewer’s eye can’t help but be entertained, and your painting will be mesmerizing. This leads to peoples comment that they are drawn to the painting but they dont know why. They dont know all the decisions you have made from the beginning that create a strong successful painting.
Speaking of entertaining, if you are ever in need of a colorful, attention grabbing focal point, you can always see if there happens to be a local rooster strutting by. Just make sure to make him handsome.
Comments are closed here.