Line VS Mass

Study at Fair Oaks 

8x10 inches

Oil on panel

Study at Fair Oaks

8x10 inches

Oil on panel

Notes From My Tree Painting Journal

All tree painters have their own approach to constructing trees. I am a mass painter by nature. I see large shapes when I paint. I look for positive and negative shapes and their angles. There is very little line in my painting until the end of the painting when I add a few limbs and moss to the trees. My paintings start as abstract shapes and progress into more recognizable objects near the end of the process. I am looking at light and shadow as shapes throughout the process as well. I use lost and found lines here and there to lead the viewer around but mostly masses.

I have a friend who I would call a line painter.  He uses hundreds of lines throughout his paintings to form eventual masses of lines. An interesting process. His process is slower than mine and intricate. I think all painters are biased naturally in one or the other. He sees lines, I see large shapes that progressively get smaller.  Which is right? Both of us.