Had fun with composition in this one.
This composition idea came from watching a lecture on composition and how to use light/shadow and framing to draw the eye around and around in a painting. So your eye moves around that lit circle that’s made out of the trees and the water.
This Caravaggio does it by lighting the guy’s sleeve. So your eye goes there, then follows direction of his arm down to table and then up to lit hand and cards in it, follows that up to the faces; the guy’s fingers lead you to feather, feather points down to cards he’s holding behind his back.
You can also see this circle framing – how your eye goes round and round, in this case like you’re spinning a top – in this other Caravaggio.
This is the lecture I watched on composition, and it was really great. I love this idea of narrative painting because it reminds me so much of writing; these are narrative tricks we use to drive readers/viewers to experience a piece of art in a certain way.
One thing we’ve lost in drive to specialization – across all fields – how different fields and formats and specializations can all inform each other. We talk about how a lack of humanities education has resulted in current tech crisis, and doctors who miss easy things because they’re so specialized.
I’m often asked what I read, and who my influences are, and that’s a difficult question because it depends on WHEN you ask me. I went through a whole year there during the pandemic where I read something like 50 domestic thrillers. In 2017 I read all the Sue Grafton Alphabet books.
But vast majority of my “inspiration” comes from reading about various war and world histories and evolution and anthropology and neuroscience or insects or emergent theory or whatever other books on topics that spark my interest. I have a broad knowlege of lots of things.
Engaging in non-monetized artistic pursuits has been especially good for my brain In These Times. I have gotten so burnt out on hustle culture and monetizing every fucking aspect of my life. I just want to enjoy things.
