Tip of the Month - January 2002

This month, I decided to look at two of my paintings from the point of view of gradation. Realizing that the gradation will give the work life by movement and that when the gradation is interrupted, it will stop the continuous movement. This sudden stop will hold my attention on the image a little longer. EVENING POND has examples of gradation.

	In the tree tops
In the forest undergrowth		In the variation in the neutral tree trunks
	On the water's surface

In the tree tops, there is gradation in the color and the value. In the forest undergrowth, there is gradation within the dark colors. In the neutral tree trunks, there is gradation in size. On the water's surface, there is a gradual transition in color and value which allows the water to lay flat.

The neutral and vertical tree trunks create an interruption in the transitions of color and value in the forest. This captures the attention and permits you to explore the gradation which occurs in the negative spaces of these trees.

AUTUMNLIGHT has gradation in the color RED.


REDS are seen in the northern fall landscape. In this case, RED is used in a still life suggesting autumn. The RED family in this work helps you to move through the composition. Yellow abruptly stops the movement and then gradually changes into whites which move into the cream colored negative space.

Gradation will give a lifeless painting movement.


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