Charles Hawthorne, Observations

"The Fisherman's Daughter" by Charles Hawthorne

"Our metier is not paint and brushes, it's our ability to see."

 

"Realize the value of putting down your first impression quickly."

 

"Consider the big spot of the earth and the big spot of the sky. Start your canvas by putting down a small spot of color for each. Think of the sky more as a curtain. Hold up a piece of white against it to help you judge its value."

"Get the big simplicity of the foreground in relation to the mass of sky. In doing the sky concentrate on something in the study to get its relation to the landscape. Always have something within about ten feet with which to compare the color values of your distant objects."

 

"Have the big lines of the composition going out of the canvas, your imagination can wander beyond the edge. It will make it seem part of a large composition. Have as much fun as you can and don't feel that the edge of your canvas confines you. Let your vision go right on."

"The difference in the lights does not need to be shown, but the difference of shade against light does. Look from your big light to your big shadow and see how closely everything holds to one or the other."

"Look at the view with your head sideways to get better relations, so that you get a sensation of the color spots rather than a perception of objects as objects."

 

"When you have a dark horizon line, look at the dark edge of some shadow and then you will realize that there is not so great a difference between sky and water. Do everything in relation to a positive shadow in the foreground, and in trying to decide what the color of one spot is, don't look at it too long. Keep your eye going over the whole."

 

"In a group don't think of separate figures, think of spots of color. In a large crowd several people would make one spot."

"The sky should be lighter - and the water. Try looking at something - a wave for instance - the dark side of it; then hold up something near you o- a stick perhaps - and see how light the water really is."

"When painting a cast shadow, work from the edge in. Take the edge of a house in shadow and paint it in reference to the other things."

 

"Keep this little canvas, it is a promise for the future. When I say 'keep this canvas,' I mean for the influence on yourself. When one does a good think, I think it's well to keep it to show how foolish we are at other times."