Pope - Plein Air

1) What is the emotional tone of the image, and how is this accomplished? What are the objects and what is the space?

2) Is this a balanced composition? How could this further be improved?

3) Is there volume, space, depth, and texture in both your objects and your space?

4) Have you captured a specific time of day? What time is it?

5) How could you improve this composition? Give at least three examples.

1. The image has a subtle, calm feel which is accomplished through use of a smooth field of yellow grass in the foreground leading up to a smooth dark hill, both being calm earth tones. The solid blue sky gives the piece a southwestern landscape feel with the hill being the area of focus.
2. I feel that this composition is balanced because the focus of the image, the hill, is centered on the square format canvas. I feel as though the composition could have been improved if I would have painted the picture from farther away but this would have also required more painting time.
3. I did capture a sense of volume, space, depth, and texture in my objects and space but feel as though I could have added more detail to further define these elements. I didn’t feel I had time to paint further detail because of the time-sensitive subject and my slow pace.
4. I believe my painting successfully portrays an average New Mexico day around 3:00 pm because of the solid, bright blue sky.
5. This composition could be improved by creating more detailed texture in the field and the hill. I also felt that I could have matched the colors of the landscape more precisely. The third thing I would change is the distance I painted from, I would have included more hill in the frame.