Something I learned from Harald Klunder’s workshops was how to use a frame of reference in a painting and then make sure that both the positive and negative areas within that space are active.
I used this approach in Not So Easy. An opposing contrast of scale created pictorial interest yet kept an overall semi-abstract design for the viewer to interpret freely.
This is part of the There Goes the Neighbourhood series and is based on large-scale charcoal drawings of urban development in the west end of Toronto.
The foreground detail emphasizes the larger sweep of former farmland, which has become a newly fenced golf course ringed by high-density housing. As the title suggests, this is where dogs run free when they get the chance.
I created opposing forces by balancing small fragments of collaged surface treatment on one side and a small figure on the other. In between, the horizontal division of the remaining area increases a sweeping sense of space and provides a possible storyline for the viewer to interpret.
For a change, I wanted to use middle-value contrast throughout the whole painting and find opposing contrasts in other ways. So I emphasized spatial contrast by attaching small-scale foreground details, such as the broken fence, to the edge of the painting and beyond to larger-scale background areas. This also created spacious central areas for the viewer to explore. |
