– Jeanne Mackenzie reporting –
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, Brad Clark’s “Down the Road.”
Lead Image: “Down the Road,” by Brad Clark, oil, 8 x 10 in.
This painting has a masterful decisiveness of space. Looking at each puzzle piece in the painting, they each have a reason for being in that location. Each area has its own unique shape, and no two are the same. The trees give the sky shape interest while the tree shadows divide the road up into varied shapes. Even the values are strong in their statement. Looking at the painting in grayscale shows a painting just as strong. Try taking a monochromatic snapshot of your painting in progress and see if it holds up with solid shapes and values.
