Quotes on Rythym from "Composition of Outdoor Painting" by Edgar Payne

"Eucalyptus Grove" by Edgar Payne

"Rhythm comes mainly from a receptive state of mind, which is usually brought about by what is seen and felt. To feel the spirit of animate and inanimate nature - the rhythm of life and the universe... Sometimes a view will reveal a lazy stream winding through gently moving foliage, with distant meadows, shadowless hills, all perhaps enveloped in hazy atmosphere. Here is peace and quietude. The mood of nature becomes our mood."

"Nature has visual rhythm in form, line, color and movement."

"Rhythmic feeling when observing nature is caused by seeing both the moving and stationary parts. In creating the proper state of mind to feel rhythm, vision and appreciation must be employed... The semi-stationary quality of substance in foliage is balanced by the more rigid limbs and the strong foundation in the attachment of the trunk in the ground. This accents the grace and movement felt in the texture of loose foliage and small twigs as they respond to the varying strength of the breezes... The symmetry in the banks of streams and slow or swift-moving water gives an example of nature's rhythm."

"Whether the movement of clouds is seen or felt, there is always a certain rhythmic quality in them... Here is a fine example of the need for balancing of moving impermanent masses by the more stationary elements. Some of the more stationary ground parts are essential."

"Rhythm may be said to be the lubricating element in pictorial composition. A sort of easy co-ordination of time and circumstances is needed to relax the mind in order to sense nobility and visual quality in nature and relate this in the visual parts on the canvas... As the dancer uses rhythm to integrate time, space and movement, so too, does the painter utilize this element to integrate the factors in art."

To be continued