HARD - SOFT and LOST EDGES

A quick explanation.

You know a hard edge is when the edge of an object is painted in a well defined way, you have no trouble distinguishing the edge, effectively loosing the edge.

You know a soft edge is an edge which is diffused and blending into the surrounding area, fading into the background.

What you want to know is why we use these edges.

Because, edges are used to lead the viewer's eye around your painting and ultimately to the focal point, or focal area.

Hard edges bring the object into focal point. We use a hard edge when we want to make a certain feature appear to advance. It is a good idea to avoid excessive use of hard edges, because they work against the creation of realism, and the painting tends to become mechanical. We need to be careful though, because a painting totally devoid of hard edges tends to look uninteresting. So the solution, is to put in a few hard edges in, but not too many.

Soft edges, and lost edges have the opposite effect. In real life, most edges look soft because our eyes are constantly moving, which has the effect of blurring edges. An edge will only assume its sharpness if we specifically focus on it because when we focus, the eye comes to rest. So in your painting, it is best to keep most of the edges soft, except for those areas you want to stand out and grab attention. The viewers eye has a natural tendency to fill in the lost edge, and this helps keep a painting interesting as well. To paint soft edges, you do exactly that, soften the edge. To paint a lost edge, you paint the edge in the same value as the edge next to it, so that both edges blend in, and get lost.

Cucumber etc.,

This is what I was working on today at Art Group. I would never have thought of doing still life at all if Mackb had not put his 2 photographs on the Paint Out thread on Wetcanvas. Thank you Mackb .....I really have enjoyed painting those two still life photographs and I surprised myself with the way they turned out. OK ...... I know they are not perfect but they are good by my standards .....
16" X 12" acrylic on board

Sorry ....

Sorry I didn't get painting the tomatoes yet!! .....I have been having fun with a cucumber for Mackb's thread on WC. I will be taking it to my art group this morning and maybe get it finished today along with my tractor painting that I still have to show here ..... Maybe I will try the tomatoes in the afternoon ....who knows .....

Drawing Shapes and Form

Bruce asked me how to draw an eclipse. I did a google for him and didn't find much to be honest. I have a book here The Complete Guide of Drawing Techniques. I have scanned two pages and posted them here for you to read. They are .jpg so you copy them into your own photo editing program and print them out for yourselves.




These last two pages come from Watercolor Basics Perspective Secrets Phil Metzger.

Tomatoes

 

watercolour on Arches rough 300gsm

Afternoon Tea

I forgot about the tomats completely and got to working in front of a still life. My head hurts after doing this one. Acrylic on canvas, 11X14.

Sandy's Tomatoes in acrylic.

Well I am cutting it fine I know, but here they are. I sat up painting these tonight, and Ree is working on hers too. She is staying up to get her husband off to work, me, I am going to bed. It is after 1.30am already.. **yawn**

Well here you go, and no. I don't like them. I tried so hard to paint them the colours they were, but I "lost it" four times, so they are red!!!!! I painted them on a 5"x7" canvas board, and scanned them onto the pc. Should have taken a photo methinks. Oh well maybe tomorrow..

So Sandy, my excuse for the red tomatoes, is, that it took me so long to paint them, they ripened. Weak I know, a real groaner...............

A wet in wet of the Sandy's tomatoes. I know it's overworked. I can't quite seem to manage the light touch and still achieve density.

Rua Kenana is his name.

Early in the 20th century, Rua Kenana founded a religious community at the foot of Maungapohatu, a mountain sacred to Tuhoe in the heart of the Urewera region. New Zealand By 1907 around 600 followers were living there with him.
New Zealand government officials considered Rua to be a troublemaker, especially when, as a pacifist, he objected to Tuhoe participating in World War One. Acting on the excuse that alcohol was being sold illegally at Maungapohatu, Rua was summoned to appear in court. He refused, explaining that as it was harvest time, he would come later. Angered by his response, the police mounted an armed expedition, arriving at Maungapohatu on 2 April 1916. Rua was there to meet them, standing unarmed on his marae, when a shot was fired. Two Māori were killed, including Rua's son Toko, and while the police claimed the first shot came from Rua's camp, modern analysis of events on the day makes this seem unlikely.

Rua was charged with treason and while he was found not guilty by the jury, judge Frederick Chapman did find him guilty of resisting arrest and sentenced him to one year of hard labour, followed by further 18 months imprisonment. Eight of the jury members protested at the harshness of his sentence and successfully petitioned to have it reduced. Rua was released in April 1918 and returned to Maungapohatu. The community was in decline, however, and by the early 1930s, most people had left to find work elsewhere. Rua moved on to Matahi in eastern Bay of Plenty, and lived there until his death in 1937.

This is my third and last drawing.. c&c away

Maori Man his name is.....Rua Kenana

I drew this guy twice. The first one you don't get to see ;-) BUT this one you can give me c&c on please.. If you want to see the reference picture, I will email it to is, it is private. 8"x12"

Brigid

I am trying to do a portrait of my mother. She will be 3 years dead at the end of this month. She was a lovely lady who smiled a lot and was always cheery and in an upbeat mood.
If there is a heaven and if she was not good enough on this earth to get into heaven then there will be a lot of people in hell and I will be one of them!
I think, for a start, that my values are not the best in this one. Funny how it looks ok until I see it on the computer!!

Tomatoes x three..

I spent around 2 hours drawing these in my sketch book. My sketch book, by the way, is 12 inches x 8 inches. c&c away.. :-)

Veggie-Fruit Juice

Acrylic, 8X10"


Another I was working on, just to show I do know how to paint better than that horrible wc thing I just did this afternoon.

I really need to learn how to paint glass. Anybody good at it in acrylics or oil?

My Backyard

Now you all know why I don't paint with watercolours. This is a view from my kitchen window and it was supposed to show the bottles sitting on the wiondow sill. No need to say it ladies, I'm a terrible painter with watercolours.

Moreton Bay Fig trunk. (plein air sketch)

I went to Minipipi Parklands this afternoon. I drew/sketched from quarter to 4pm until 1/4 to 6 pm. Not without incident either. I was accosted by a couple of weird parents, who didn't like the fact I asked the little boy 3 times not to ride his scooter in front of me when I was drawing. Long story short, I told them I was going to ring the police, they were that bad.. sigh.

For today...Gypsy Again

This is another "Gypsy" drawing...I am thinking of writing a children's story...(one day)

Ribbon Gum Tree (sketch)

The drawing looks a heap better than the scan. Darnit......

Future Juice

Hi ladies, I have been away and am not very perky of late, but I tried my own challenge on WC and posted this. Boy do I need practice. Acrylic on canvas, 8X10"

Gum Trees

Acrylic. 5"x7" using Ree's gum tree challenge reference picture.

Gypsy

 

My drawing for today of our old dog Gypsy...
I used some colour..she had a beautiful coat.

Landscape with a figure .....

This is crap!!
I will say that before anyone else says it!
This is what I did at a workshop today ....the theme was a landscape with figure/s.
The artist taking the workshop, Ray Elwood, was excellent. He is mainly a watercolour artist and that was what he did in his demonstrations. He did two demos ....I could have watched him all day .....
He had lots of ref pics of landscapes and figures and we had to pick a landscape and paint it adding a figure. I couldn't find one that I really liked and so I was only half hearted in painting it...... it shows ....
I could have done my own thing as he did say that at the start of the class ....maybe that's what I will do next time.
Sorry JJ ....I didn't take notes .....

Tissue? anyone.. Aaaaachoooooooo!

While Ree was talking to me on the phone, adn playing with her facebook account, I drew my tissue box. See! I am committed..;-)) Sorry the scan has wiped out the bottom of the box though darn it..

Long black with caramel.............please.

It isn't good, it is bad, even if the scan hadn't lightened out the saucer it is still bad, but I did sketch today. Did you? ;-))

Mount Warning from Beechmont

I posted this painting a couple of days ago, before I posted it on wc, so I don't know why it hasn't shown up here. Phantom post stealer is at work again.

14"x10.5" acrylic on paper

Still Life

This is a still life painting I have done for a thread on Wetcanvas.
8" X 10" acrylic on board
C&C welcome