Workshop Report: The Lessons of Flog
Conway Park on Fir Island, Skagit Valley, Wash.
On the third morning of the workshop, we arrived at our location in Conway Park to find ourselves surrounded by heavy fog. Very heavy fog. This was a thrill for me; I have always been a great lover of fog and even did a series of fog paintings several years ago. But how would the students respond? I knew the fog wouldn’t last long, so I told them to keep it short, about 45 minutes, and to work small. The results were remarkable. The unique attributes of fog made it easier to understand many of the key lessons I had been talking about since the start of the workshop: simplified shapes, values, edges, and neutral colors.
Scroll down to see all the examples.
Simplified Shapes and Masses
Landscape painters continually strive to simplify shapes. This allows us to convert detailed and complex subjects into easier-to-read compositions. (See The Not-So-Simple Art of Simplification and Exercise: Simplification and Massing in Landscape with Limited Values.) In full sunlight, value contrasts are strong and details are crisply defined. But fog has a magical way of simplifying forms. Details dissolve to reveal large, simplified masses. Conveniently these masses correspond to the major building blocks/shapes that make up a composition. Complicated forms like trees are turned into flat shapes of color and value (as seen in the edges diagram below).
Value Relationships
In bright sunlight we usually see an extreme range of values, from very light to very dark. Fog turns this formula on its head. The range of values is much narrower. Values are more closely related, hovering in the mid-range. As a general formula, the narrower the value range, the greater the illusion of atmosphere.
The difference between edges is more apparent in fog. In the near ground, edges are sharper. But within a relatively short distance, edges become much softer, which helps to suggest recession.
Edges
Edges occur where one shape or plane differentiates itself from another. By controlling edges (hard versus soft) the painter is able to imply a kind of spatial mapping. A sharper edge heightens focus and makes the form to which it is attached come forward. A softer edge has the opposite effect, making the object to which it is assigned recede. In bright sunlit conditions, most edges are highly focused, and it is up to the painter to decide which ones to leave sharp and which ones to make soft. Fog demonstrates this very well because it exaggerates the relative hardness or softness of edges.
Neutral Colors
In full sunlight, saturated colors abound. This often leads painters to overlook neutral or “gray” colors. But in the fog, neutral colors are impossible to ignore. The painter is forced to mix more neutrals, pay closer attention to temperature differences, and detect the subtle hue differences between neutral colors.
Neutrals can also be an effective strategy for getting colors to work in agreement or to help suggest a unified light — which is very evident in all the samples below. (For more information on how neutrals can be used to establish harmony, see The Harmony of Neutrals.)
The small size of these paintings, 5 x 7 to 8 x 10, contributes to their success. Working small has a way of encouraging simplification. The brush size, relative to the size of the canvas, leads to larger, more shape-oriented strokes. Also, on a small surface, we tend to be less concerned about producing a masterpiece. We are less attached to the outcome and therefore take more chances.
Jan Rogers: The complements of red and green work to create neutrals.
Karen Epperson: An extremely limited range of values, along with soft edges, creates the illusion of dense fog.
Ed Byrd: Fog wipes away detail, making it easier to see the basic shapes that will make up the composition.
Bob Slaton: Tight control of value, temperature and neutrals keeps the colors unified and creates a clear sense of recession.
Audrey Alsterberg: As the fog breaks, value contrasts increase, but neutral colors still hold.
Lisa McShane: The extreme simplification of shapes generated by fog can abstract the subject.
Additional Resources
from Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice
Edges, page 150 –151
Complementary Color and Neutrals, pages 110 – 111
Value Division in Landscape, page 52
Value Zones, page 53
from The Landscape Painter’s Workbook
Atmosphere and Analogy, page 119
4 Comments
I’ve always been intrigued by fog. Reading and studying with your book is helping me to better understand and see what to paint.
Can’t wait for the next foggy day.
Nice lesson. Foggy and misty days are definitely something to learn how to do, since we have so many days like these in our area. Seems like a great exercise for limited palette, too, in order to keep colors neutral. Photo references probably hold up better for these, too, as shapes become the most important element versus being lost in bright colors.
Mitch, as always, I remain your admiring student. Excellent lesson!
Dear Mitch,
Recently, I purchased your new book about landscape painting. I just “finished” it … of course it will never be finished; I will refer to it again and again. You have distilled for me all the mismatched, various, old, new, accquired and experienced things I have learned about painting in my 70 years. Thank you for writing that beautiful book. It is well organized, well guided, informative … not to mention stunning.
Best regards,
Delores Pierce-Haugland, Artist
Gallery North, Edmonds