Backgrounds to Foregrounds - the Planes in the Picture

Max loves to play 'Hide the Toy'

Max - Looking Dapper with his new Haircut

This means I hide his toy, somewhere in the house and he has to finds it.  No, it is not buried under something and no, I don't think he uses his nose to find it.  I imagine the whole house smells of me so that would be little help.  I hide things in plain sight: on the floor; on a bed or chair; or partly hidden behind a pillow.  If he can't find it, he comes back and tells me and then I give him a clue - look in that room or up there. I can literally see a smile on his face when he finds it. 

The Creative Process is like that . . .
Your prize is clear to you.  You know what you want to create, well maybe not exactly, but once you start things take shape.  You feel success is near, but  . . . suddenly it is not there.  Your work is in plain sight, right in front of you, but you can not 'see' where to go. 

GOLDEN FINCH IN THE APPLE BLOSSOMS - WIP  - 10 x 8 watercolour on wood cradle

Who will give you your clue?
When that happens to me I go in search of an Art book.  I know Mr Google, often has ideas but I have a good library, books I have read 5 and 6 times, so I usually go there first.  One of my old standbys is 'Conversations in Paint" by Charles Dunn. You probably have a book or website that speaks to you, Charles speaks to me. 

Putting my Finch into the Planes of the Picture

Backgrounds to Foregrounds . . . issues in execution . . .
Working with the "Planes of a Picture" is an issue for me.  As a wildlife artist, my subject is an animal, but that is not all I am painting.  I want my wildlife to be 'in' its environment.  I want to portray it involved with its life.  I want my viewers to feel they have 'come upon' my wildlife, as if on a walk or strolling in the garden. In order to place my bird/animal in my setting I need to think of the Picture Planes - Background, Mid-ground and Foreground. 

Cropped Picture (WIP) with the background layers 

Planes are important . . .
Whatever the point of view - birds eye, up close or in a distance - abstract or realism - having layers that create different planes, makes for depth and interest.  For my little Golden Finch, I wanted you to feel like you looked up into the apple tree and saw the little finch.  Such a treat.  So first I suggested a loose background of shrubs/trees and possibly more apple blossoms.  (see last post Build a Background from Abstract to Realism for more on this)  By using a few different values I was able to suggest different layers and thus a bit of complexity in the Background. 

My little Finch is firmly set in my Mid-ground Plane

Mid-ground is my home plate . . .
I know I am bit of bore, but I find my wildlife is usually in the mid-ground plane.  And I guess this is partly because of my back story - you see my wildlife while hiking or walking- so of course there will be something behind them and in between you and them. 
Within this mid-ground plane there are layers again.  More detailed and more refined than the background.  The branch is behind the bird, the bird itself projects forward, (well it will even more when I finish him) and then there are leaves in from of him.  He is firmly 'in' the setting. 

Foreground:  Using all the tricks in the book, a sense of depth is created

Don't forget the foreground . . .
Here is where the picky things happen and you want to bring the little brushes out. Yes, there is a big urge to use do tiny details in the foreground.  But . . . remember your focal point.  In my case, I want your eye to slid past the foreground and go to my mid-ground.  So the detail may be there, but soften. 
This view at the bottom of the picture of the Foreground is interesting. As well as the foreground leaves, there are pieces of the mid-ground present - leaves and tree trunk- and the blurry suggestive layers of the background. 

Analyzing your Planes is just another tool. . .
When critiquing your work, check out your picture planes.  When I went to Dunn's comments on the Planes of the Picture he mentioned a problem - The Graphic Hole.  This is where you have an empty Plane.  ie.  Lots of interesting things in the foreground and background and the middle ground is empty.  I certainly find with wildlife as a subject this doesn't happen.  Instead the background and middle ground have interest but the foreground is often empty.  I think in Abstract work there is also a danger of having only 1 or 2 planes.  Certainly whatever the genre, 3 interesting planes would make for a more interesting painting.

Painting Backgrounds is a subject that has interested me a lot.  I have talked about it many times.  Here are a few posts on the subject, if you put 'painting backgrounds' into my search box on my blog you will get even more.
Backgrounds that Paint Themselves 
What's Going on Back There
Painting Those Pesky Backgrounds

Next week, another look at Backgrounds - Saving the Whites.

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Artists reading this post also find the following valuable:

Matching Colours to Values here
Playing with a Very Limited Watercolour Palette here
3 Ways to Turn Drawing Despair into Action here

How to Find your Starting Point here

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Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy