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albert barcilon
303-440-8181
Wilderness
Art Space
Studio D
Boulder,
CO 80301
barcilo2@indra.com
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"Albert Barcilon has a superb color sense. Whether he is painting an abstract or landscape, his paintings
are imbued with wonderful light, movement, and interesting patterns. I asked Albert to give our quilt group a
design class because I thought the quilters would benefit from an artist’s viewpoint on composition.
We were not disappointed!"
-Carolyn Anderson,Thrilled to Pieces quilter, Lafayette, CO
Starting a Painting Need Not Be a Drama
Starting an Abstract Painting: How Did "Lost Civilization" Emerge?
In the early stages, I painted with thin colors, placing marks at random...
laying metal shapes onto colored inks spots to see what kind of patterns would emerge...This early stage is the play
stage. When this first formless effort was dry I continued "playing" by pouring small puddles of a resist (I happen to use
Liquin) on my paper to protect the colors it covers once the resist dries.
By tilting the board on which the paper was stretched, beads of the resist produced irregular horizontal and vertical
lines that intersected.
That pattern was suggestive of "windows" in a
dilapidated building. That triggered the suggestion of ruins which, in turn, suggested a lost civilization. At that point, I knew exactly what I wanted to paint!
Later I became interested in painting a series of images based on the theme of "passage of time".
This theme produced some of my best paintings.
Look at ABSTRACT PAINTINGS for a series of paintings based on passage of time
"Lost Civilization," "Dried Flowers of Time;" "Lost Civilization: Incas."
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Starting a Realistic Painting:
"Paint what you want to see, not what you see."
(Charles Reid, teacher and watercolorist)
Let me describe how I started the "realistic" painting displayed in the home page and shown above.
I sketched this image while on location. In that sketch I recorded the important values, the wind swept clouds,
and the gestures of the tree branches. This sketch was more important to me than a photo because while sketching
my eyes acted as filters that let me see what was important and kept out what was not. As the watercolor artist
Charles Reid said: "You paint what you want to see, not what you see."
The colors in this painting are not exactly those that were out there, yet they are pleasing with their
patchwork of cool and warm hues; the embracing gestures of the tree limbs are inviting, the movement of
the clouds foretell of the gentle breezes; these wrong colors make this work quite nice, especially to me
for it encapsulates a slice of my life.
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A quick way of adding interest to your art by superimposing two images
To obtain a mix between real and abstract images one superimposes an abstract image of one's choice onto a
realistic image. That realistic image maybe a flower, a church, etc....In so doing, the abstact pattern "fractures"
the real image and creates a more interesting composition.
The background of "Stampede" in ABSTRACT PAINTINGS, is an abstract image,
taken from design found on a small stone. Abstract images may be had using circles on a piece of bubble wrap, a branch
with leaves, or even a wallpaper pattern; some abstract designs may work better than others for a given realistic image.
We note that the real image in Stampede is a repeating pattern of horses represented by flat shapes.
- Use a lightbox to be able to see and draw both the real image (drawn on cheap paper) and the abstract image (drawn on inexpensive paper).
Lightly draw a third image on good paper by interviewing both real and abstract patterns to end up with a pleasing
composition.
- When painting your final image, pay heed to the background pattern. Have the image & background "weave themselves
into each other."
- Emphasize patterns from one or the other images in certain places by bringing out its lines or creating a subset
of patterns of colors.
Stylized shapes convey emotions
By painting your realistic image in a stylized, “flat” shape, it will convey more emotions than a realistic
depiction can. Look at the horses of “Stampede.” They’ve been reduced to an essence that speaks of speed and energy
in a more immediate way than a realistic painting of horses can.
Importance of diagonal lines to further emphasize motion
I made the background diagonal. By controlling your lines you set the tone of how the viewer feels when looking at your painting.
For tranquility, use horizontal lines;for tension, motion, use diagonal lines.
Heighten drama with contrasts
By adding touches of the opposite elements and you’ll create interest and drama to your work. For instance, in "Stampede" I
included a few quail shapes. Their delicate outline and tiny feet translate to slowness and stillness contrasting with the
speed and energy associated with a stampede. By placing touches of the opposite characteristics of the frenzied stampede,
I added interest to the composition.
Enjoy
Remember, the important thing is to have fun. Ignore the inner critic and just let go.
Approach your work with the zest of a five-year old, uninhibited and free. Having a playful attitude
when painting makes magicians of us all!
Wishing you all the best with your art,
-Albert Barcilon
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