The Creative Life - Barbara Trovillo

Good morning,    Today I would like to talk some more about impressionism.    I started painting in my 30s. My eyesight was better than normal! I could see so well that if I was in the driver's seat on a 4 lane highway, I could see across the road into a window and read the time on a clock! I am not exaggerating.... And I was one of those careless, cocky young people who believed it wouldn't happen to me. Oh, no, my eyes were too good. They would not fail me. But, of course, I was wrong. Somewhere in my mid 40s, I [...]

The Rule of Thirds was first written down in John Thomas Smith's illustrated book, Remarks on Rural Scenery published in 1797.   The rule of thirds is a tool used in design and composition. It says that if you divide any canvas or paper into thirds, vertically and horizontally, and then place the key elements of your image along these lines or at the junctions of them, the composition will be more interesting and dynamic.    I am intrigued by this and also the "Golden Ratio" which I cannot even begin to talk about! (I will give it a shot when I understand it better, though! [...]

 “Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” – Robert Fulgham     Achieving balance is important and difficult. Defining what that means to you is the first step.      I have set a schedule to be in the studio at 9 am. until 3-4 in the afternoon. There is always so much to be done! Of course, much of the time, I am actually at the easel or drawing table painting. First, though, it's necessary to design and compose those paintings. There is research to [...]

  Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.”—Claude Debussy       Abstract art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect. Wassily Kandinsky.    Realism: In its specific sense, realism refers to a mid nineteenth century artistic movement characterised by subjects painted from everyday life in a naturalistic manner; however the term is also generally used to describe artworks painted in a realistic almost photographic way   Abstract Realism is an art movement that is not easily defined. It is a contradiction of terms. Realism is representing [...]