In this series, plein air painter and instructor Jeanne Mackenzie takes a look at new paintings by contemporary artists and points out why they succeed as painted images. This week, Dan Bulleit’s “Fall Bridge on the Ohio.”
This representational painting has an interesting abstract feel to it. There is a definite focal point with strong directional lines helping to lead the viewer’s eye around. The glow of the sun is believable because the forms become increasingly “lost” at the edges as they move toward the light source. The subject also takes on the value and color of the sun, diffusing line and form. The bridge could have been a gray, but the artist chose to use variations of complementary blue and orange. This helps to increase that sunglow vibration.
