Blog / 2009 / Working the Whole Composition

November 16, 2009

One of the the most important lessons I’ve ever learned about painting came from Alexandra Hirsch, an instructor at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. I was barely 16 and studying acrylics formally for the first time.

I was working on a self-portrait and having trouble with the background, an abstract color field. Alex approached my easel and recommended I take some of the color I had mixed for my cheek or my eye and put a dab of it elsewhere in the composition as a way of tying the whole together.

high school self-portrait by Gwenn Seemel
Gwenn Seemel
Self-portrait
1997
acrylic on canvas board
14 x 18 inches

This is that painting, and, in the ten or so years since, I’ve figured out just what Alex meant. I still paint by her words, making a point to work the whole composition every time I put brush to canvas or panel.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

This method comes naturally when working on small art, like this piece, which measures just 7 by 5 inches.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

In a few brushstrokes, the entire composition is changed drastically.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

It’s exciting and sometimes unnerving how quickly the painting evolves when there’s only a small surface to work...

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

...but it’s also a good reminder of why working the whole composition is essential even with bigger paintings.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

Focusing on just one area of the painting at a time isolates it from the rest of the dynamic. It makes for a very disjointed or even mannered look.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

Reworking the whole piece every time I touch it is sometimes scary, especially when I’m convinced that I’m on the right track like I was here.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

But, by the time I got here...

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

...and even here...

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

...I was aware that certain aspects of the painting a few process shots back would never have worked out.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

Working this way is a discipline of not-getting-too-attached.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

It’s akin to the ceramicist who, to some degree, must kiss their pot goodbye when it goes into the kiln.

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

There’s always the possibility of a complete overhaul...

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

...or even a complete do-over!

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

Nothing is finished...

self-portrait work in progress, Portland painter Gwenn Seemel
work in progress

...until...

painted self-portrait by Gwenn Seemel
Gwenn Seemel
Gap
2009
acrylic on panel
7 x 5 inches

...it’s finished!


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