by Jeanne Mackenzie
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, Chaya Schapiro.
What makes a painting interesting is the invitation for the viewer to venture into the scene. By using visual cues to lead the viewer into and around the scene, the painting becomes a place to revisit again and again. In this painting, there is a great lead-in through the foreground as it goes past the dominant tree. It invites you to explore the mid-ground and the background. You then return to the tree subject to investigate the wonderful three-dimensional qualities.
