#12 Charles Appel 'By the River' - 25 Days of Tonalism
Hello and welcome to Tonalist painting with M Francis McCarthy.
Today's painting is a study after 'By the River' by Charles Appel.
Our video features the progression of this study from its early underpainting stages on up through the final finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check it out.
For many years I worked as an illustrator. Prior to that time I was usually engaged in drawing and learning how to draw better. I know quite a lot about drawing and illustration and I have some thoughts about the differences between the illustrative mode of art versus the fine art approach that I'm going to try to share today.
One of the primary differences I find is that when you are illustrating and endeavoring to capture every particular of your subject, it requires a lot of conscious focus and concentration. The more detailed and accurate your illustration is, the more focus and concentration is required. The part of our minds that focuses attention is directly tied to the intellect. For this reason, I see illustration as more intellectually driven than painting.
When I was a young artist I used to really like super detailed drawings and illustrations. I was a big fan of science fiction, fantasy artwork and comic books, my favorite artists were always the ones with the most detail in their work. As I matured my tastes changed and I became more fond of artists that were able to convey a lot of expression with just a simple brushstroke.
These days I appreciate that type of work even more. Using the intellect to render very precise and faithful portrayals of your subject, often means that there is little room left for simple gesture and emotion to be expressed. Now That I create fine art paintings I often think about that interplay while I am painting.
There is a juxtaposition between the ordered part of our minds and our spirits that interact when painting. When painting a tree for example and looking at the reference, I do not try to accurately capture every individual branch of that tree, nor do I worry about rendering every rock present in the scene or accurately delineating any aspect of the scene at all. What I am predominantly interested in, is expressing my impression and getting across an emotive response. Because of this, I have to use both my intellect and my intuition while creating a painting.
This can be frustrating if the painting starts to get disjointed or too inaccurate. I often feel that it would just be easier to hunker down and use my intellect while creating a painting. What happens when I end up doing this, is that the painting becomes choked and less expressive not to mention less pleasing to look at.
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'By the River' by Charles Appel; as I stated in the video I can find problems with almost any painting by Charles.
He was not the best of the Tonalist painters. That said, there is an awful lot that I like about his work, I definitely get something out of doing studies after his paintings.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
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| Painted after - ' 'By the River' by Charles Appel Study by M Francis McCarthy - Size 5x7, Oil on wood panel |
Our video features the progression of this study from its early underpainting stages on up through the final finishing brushwork. Also featured is my usual rambling narration, so please check it out.
For many years I worked as an illustrator. Prior to that time I was usually engaged in drawing and learning how to draw better. I know quite a lot about drawing and illustration and I have some thoughts about the differences between the illustrative mode of art versus the fine art approach that I'm going to try to share today.
One of the primary differences I find is that when you are illustrating and endeavoring to capture every particular of your subject, it requires a lot of conscious focus and concentration. The more detailed and accurate your illustration is, the more focus and concentration is required. The part of our minds that focuses attention is directly tied to the intellect. For this reason, I see illustration as more intellectually driven than painting.
When I was a young artist I used to really like super detailed drawings and illustrations. I was a big fan of science fiction, fantasy artwork and comic books, my favorite artists were always the ones with the most detail in their work. As I matured my tastes changed and I became more fond of artists that were able to convey a lot of expression with just a simple brushstroke.
These days I appreciate that type of work even more. Using the intellect to render very precise and faithful portrayals of your subject, often means that there is little room left for simple gesture and emotion to be expressed. Now That I create fine art paintings I often think about that interplay while I am painting.
There is a juxtaposition between the ordered part of our minds and our spirits that interact when painting. When painting a tree for example and looking at the reference, I do not try to accurately capture every individual branch of that tree, nor do I worry about rendering every rock present in the scene or accurately delineating any aspect of the scene at all. What I am predominantly interested in, is expressing my impression and getting across an emotive response. Because of this, I have to use both my intellect and my intuition while creating a painting.
This can be frustrating if the painting starts to get disjointed or too inaccurate. I often feel that it would just be easier to hunker down and use my intellect while creating a painting. What happens when I end up doing this, is that the painting becomes choked and less expressive not to mention less pleasing to look at.
M Francis McCarthy
Landscapepainter.co.nz
A bit about 'By the River' by Charles Appel; as I stated in the video I can find problems with almost any painting by Charles.
He was not the best of the Tonalist painters. That said, there is an awful lot that I like about his work, I definitely get something out of doing studies after his paintings.
To see more of my work, visit my site here
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| Original painting' 'By the River' by Charles Appel |
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| Study by M Francis McCarthy of ' 'By the River' by Charles Appel (Detail) |
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| Study by M Francis McCarthy of ' 'By the River' by Charles Appel (Detail 2) |