Understanding Organic Form
Introducing an organic view to your work can be revolutionary if you are a landscape artist. Seeing the organic form of the landscape is understanding the “underlying structure” of what is happening. Underlying structure is essentially like painting the “human body. You will be better off if you understand the underlying bone and muscle. This also goes for landscape” (Matt Smith). It is about understanding what is underneath and around the image you are portraying. If we have learned anything from Matt Smith, it is the importance of transitioning your view on landscape from linear/structured to natural or organic. There is a large amount of subtleness when painting directly from landscape that can easily be missed in a painting if you are looking at a view too structurally rather than looking at its natural form.
To begin teaching yourself how to look for the organic form of landscape, Matt recommends “setting up a series of still life’s in your studio and paint a sphere, a cone, a cube, and a cylinder.” Although this may sound linear or structured at first, it is the three dimensional aspect of these shapes that translates when you start painting outdoors. Once you understand the concept of painting three dimensional objects, from structure to shadow, you will understand the silhouettes you are seeing in an existing landscape. Once you are able to define the value and color within the mass of your inspiration, the “mind of the viewer will fill the rest.”
“When do you believe your lying eyes over your lying brain? Because at times you’re painting what you know and at other times you’re painting what you see, and at what point does one override the other?” - Matt Smith
If you would like to hear more from Matt and Gabor about Understanding Natural Form, check out the Paint and Clay podcast: