Still life and seascapes, people and landscapes, children, construction workers and people walking on a beach. A variety of subjects fill the paintings of Chuck Rosenthal as he colors his scenes in oils and pastels.
As one looks at his paintings, one realizes he is a master of contrasts. Perhaps the painting of a woman on the beach with her child catches the eye, bright evening sunlight casting dark shadows. Or maybe a landscape makes the viewer linger, with the contrast of soft shadowy trees against a hard, straight, white building.
In an interview, Mr. Rosenthal was asked what inspired him to paint. The artist's answer was: contrasts. Particularly he mentioned "light and shade, contrasts of form (e.g., a broad, nondescript stretch of sky with strong geometric shapes silhouetted against it), counterpoint in the composition, subtleties of light, atmospheric effects on objects and in general, strong drawing, and objects receding into shadow and then erupting into the light."
What beautiful inspiration. His answer gives us some insight into what the artist sees when he looks at something. Try it yourself. Look closely as a person stands in the sunshine. Notice their hair. Notice where the hair is dark and where the hair is light. In sun, there are often parts of the hair that appear almost white, even if the person has dark hair. Notice how many variations of color there are in the person's hair, even though you know it is all one color. (That is, unless the lady has her hair highlighted.)
By doing the above, you will gain insight into how an artist views things, and what inspired Mr. Rosenthal's paintings. You can imagine capturing all those colors with paint on canvas.
Take a look again at Mr. Rosenthal's painting "Clearwater Construction Workers." That's contrast! The arched doorway shadows are almost black contrasted against the nearly white concrete of the sidewalks. The blue jeans that the workers are wearing exhibit similar contrasts - nearly white to black and all shades of blue in between. What wonderful colors.
Even the softness of the loose dirt contrasts against the hard concrete sidewalk. And the flowing soft lines of the men's clothing contrasts with the hard straight lines of the building and sidewalks.
There you have a secret of inspiration for painting, and a little look into how an artist views things. You can view others of Mr. Rosenthal's paintings and continue to observe the contrasts. And try viewing them in life. What fun! - 32620
As one looks at his paintings, one realizes he is a master of contrasts. Perhaps the painting of a woman on the beach with her child catches the eye, bright evening sunlight casting dark shadows. Or maybe a landscape makes the viewer linger, with the contrast of soft shadowy trees against a hard, straight, white building.
In an interview, Mr. Rosenthal was asked what inspired him to paint. The artist's answer was: contrasts. Particularly he mentioned "light and shade, contrasts of form (e.g., a broad, nondescript stretch of sky with strong geometric shapes silhouetted against it), counterpoint in the composition, subtleties of light, atmospheric effects on objects and in general, strong drawing, and objects receding into shadow and then erupting into the light."
What beautiful inspiration. His answer gives us some insight into what the artist sees when he looks at something. Try it yourself. Look closely as a person stands in the sunshine. Notice their hair. Notice where the hair is dark and where the hair is light. In sun, there are often parts of the hair that appear almost white, even if the person has dark hair. Notice how many variations of color there are in the person's hair, even though you know it is all one color. (That is, unless the lady has her hair highlighted.)
By doing the above, you will gain insight into how an artist views things, and what inspired Mr. Rosenthal's paintings. You can imagine capturing all those colors with paint on canvas.
Take a look again at Mr. Rosenthal's painting "Clearwater Construction Workers." That's contrast! The arched doorway shadows are almost black contrasted against the nearly white concrete of the sidewalks. The blue jeans that the workers are wearing exhibit similar contrasts - nearly white to black and all shades of blue in between. What wonderful colors.
Even the softness of the loose dirt contrasts against the hard concrete sidewalk. And the flowing soft lines of the men's clothing contrasts with the hard straight lines of the building and sidewalks.
There you have a secret of inspiration for painting, and a little look into how an artist views things. You can view others of Mr. Rosenthal's paintings and continue to observe the contrasts. And try viewing them in life. What fun! - 32620
