Do White-throats sing Beethoven's Fifth?
16 years ago
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16 years ago- 16 years ago
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How do I learn to *see*?
Comments (29)I know this thread is somewhat out of date, but it raises some interesting points and I have a thing or two to add. Be warned: my response is long. First, I've been a professional artist for almost 20 years and I can tell you with certainty that, whether in a painting or a landscape, what is a focal point for one person is not necessarily the focal point for another. The idea that we all instantly grasp something -- the same thing -- as a focal point is aesthetic nonsense bordering on mysticism. The concept that you can "lead the eye" around is just as faulty. Unfortunately, it's a concept that has stubbornly survived all evidence to the contrary and is still being written into well-meaning books and spoken by well-meaning artists. Naturally, when you have variety in shapes, sizes, texture and color, the eye will move around, but if you line up 10 people and tell them to write down the first 5 things that they notice in a particular landscape, I guarantee you you'll get 10 completely different lists. Second, drawing may or may not help you "see". The best way I've found to see is to look uncritically (called "innocent eyes" or "with the eyes of a child") at something and take note of the first thoughts that pop into your head. Take note of where YOU look, and what YOU notice. In the books you mentioned, whatever YOUR eyes did when looking at the images defined the focal point(s) FOR YOU and that's all that matters. Some things appeal to you, some don't. Some draw your eye, some never will. Third, I find that having difficulty visualizing an end result is sometimes dependent on someone's skill level at whatever they're attempting, but (not implying that this is you) some people simply don't visualize well, and it's a very individual, grey-matter related issue that training may not "fix". Some people can do difficult number crunching in their heads, some can mentally replay music they've heard only briefly, some can visualize whatever they want -- the vast majority of us have some minor skills in each of those areas, but the experience is highly personal so don't get down on yourself if you don't visualize well: it might just not be your thing. If you see a landscape you really like, your best bet is to try to figure out why exactly you like it, and it might not end up being for the reason that you think. Give it some time. You may have to study something many times before you can begin to break down the elements well enough to consider their impact on you. I've had a lot of experience analyzing old masters' paintings, and sometimes it's surprising to realize in the end what drew me to a piece. Some people look at a landscape in awe, the most superficial layer of their thought registers "pretty flowers!", they run out and get a bunch of flowers in appealing colors, throw them together and hate the result. Another person might look at the same landscape, peel back their first layer of thought and then notice that the foliage is highly varied in texture and color and that the flowers are singing back-up, and they'll run out and get a bunch of perennials with interesting foliage, throw them together and hate the result. A third person gets past the flowers and foliage and sees the natural and appealing layering of heights and sizes, as well as the ... well, anyway, you get the point. Maybe it isn't the varied shades of pink flowers that I like so much in the picture but the way they all drape loosely and languidly into the flagstone path. If I try to build a garden around tall, statuesque plants with pink flowers, I'll be disappointed because I duplicated the wrong element. Maybe it's not the pink flowers or their uncontrolled exuberance but the repetition of contrasting blue and yellow foliage plants that captures my heart. In other words, know thyself! You need to be patient and analyze. Analyze, analyze, analyze. Pick out the half-dozen or so garden images that leave you absolutely breathless and look at them again and again until you can reason through what it is that really works for you in those images. Feel first, then reason, but you need both. You have to come to some understanding about your own aesthetics before you can possibly hope to design something that appeals to you. Good luck!...See MoreSinging the praises of Josephine's rose
Comments (34)Question: is it the COLD wet that makes them ball? They seem to handle HOT wet quite well. Of course, a downpour will mess them up pretty bad and cause them to hang their heads from the weight (not unusual, I guess, for any flower). And there seems to be a point in the bud development when, if we have rain, the bud will not open - doesn't happen often. Sammy, 9 SdlM's is definitely something to strive for in my garden. Mine would have to be in groupings - no room to spread them out. Wow, just imagine a bank of them blooming all summer. Hmmm, something to keep in mind in case of future failure(s). I have 3 plants, and 2 will soon be neighbors. I have MB & CDdG next to each other, hopefully in enough sun for their liking, but if they have to be moved that might be a good thing, right? Suzy, I wish I could "send" you some heat or "attach" it to my photos. To show how amazing this rose is here, even my Louis Philippe, aka The Florida Rose, took a break from blooming in August. I noticed this morning it suddenly has flower buds & lots of new leaves from all the rain we've had this week, but SdlM has kept pumping out her voluptuous fragrant flowers that even now are darker pink in the center, fading to pale pink at the edges - just lovely. (I wish I'd taken a picture.) Location, location, location! Your "bland and vague rose with messy petal formations, tendency to age nastily and, on top of everything, is a disease magnet" is not the rose I grow. Come ahead to Florida (Ocala) anytime. You'll at least have no hotel bill and no "little britain". But I imagine with a grandbaby coming that won't be soon! Michael, I've seen a very mature SdlM with hugely thick canes (maybe the climber) that was as tall as I am. I certainly hope 4x4 is a comfortable size for them here. Sherry...See MoreSeedlings that you can't wait to see how they do this year
Comments (51)Nice purple seedling Debra. Pistil length looks short, so it should be nice and fertile. My yellow is in a pot here, so scape height was not as good as it was in Texas. There it was around 28". Expect they will be higher here when I get it in the ground. Colors were much brighter up here with the cooler temps, which was nice. Bloom is over 6". Thanks Signet, glad you like it....See MoreHow many childhood verses do you remember?
Comments (68)interesting how the rhymes change over time & distance.. We chanted the "Cinderella" jump rope rhyme a bit different: Cinderella dressed in yella went upstairs to kiss her fella. made a mistake, kissed a snake. How many doctors did it take? & there's one that I came across, don't know *anybody* else who remembers it, but I've always liked it. A little seed lay in the ground & soon began to sprout. "Now which of the flow'rs all around" it mused, "shall I turn out?" The lily's face is fair & proud but just a trifle cold. The rose, I think, is rather loud, & then its fashion's old." & so it mused the livelong day, this supercilious seed, til it emerged one day in May & found itself...a weed. I always remember that little rhyme when I run across a critic!...See More- 16 years ago
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Deborah Kolar