| Author | Message | ||
  Eric |
Waterdog, since a vignette is a partial statement, a lot of subjects are perfect because you can edit things out. When I decide a subject won't work for a conventional painting, sometimes a vignette is the solution by eliminating something. | ||
waterdog |
Long time getting back to this discussion...Thanks, Drollere for the word from F.Webb, and your conclusions....They make sense, and when (if ever) I catch up with garden,yard, flower bed and house clutter I will try a vignette starting with a building.....It isn't as easy as I first thought to plan a vignette as not all subjects lend themselves to that format.. | ||
drollere |
from frank webb's book (p.113): "i define a vignette as an interesting shape of middle value containing darks that is places in an exciting position on a white background. each untouched corner of white should be a good shape. there should be variety in their sizes and one should definitely be larger than the others. the axis of positive and negative shapes should be slanting. the shape should touch a border at least once but need not touch all borders. while a small amount of the shape's circumference may be arbitrarily faded away to white, most of the shape's edges should be the edges of recognizable units. interest is heightened if the shape is given gradation of value, color and intensity. it need not have whites within since there is generous white in its background. white background areas may be enlivened with indications of calligraphic symbols, such as bits of grass, birds in a sky, etc. this helps to signify content in the otherwise empty whites." quite a bit of jargon here. but the gist is this: imagine a painting or drawing of a barn viewed with two sides showing. the bottom of the barn "fades" into grass, the other edges are defined by trees and sky. viewed as a shape within the rectangle of the paper, the barn cuts the whites around the four corners of the paper into interesting, dynamic shapes of their own. the angle and contour of the roof and the ground the barn sits on should not be horizontal, but sloping. you can signify "grass" with a few grassy strokes, or "sky" with a faint cloud outline or a bird or two, but otherwise these areas are white. the barn gets most of the texture, value gradations, light changes and shadowy darks, with maybe a broken window or two to let light through the shape from the other side. | ||
waterdog |
I was fortunate to get in a one-day workshop by Jo Tarabula. She has a 60 minute video showing 4 vignettes in watercolor.The cost was $20 and it may be ordered by contacting Tarabula Reproductions,1429 Deidre Drive,Ruskin, FL 33570. Its title is "Vignettes" (intermediate). She does really nice work, and makes it look easy. | ||
waterdog |
I looked at the Croney books on Amazon and didn't know which would be best so I got the one "My Way with WC - a 3 Value Approach". It had a couple of vignettes in it, but I got some good from his 3 value approach. Think I'll go back to Amazon and check out the "Croney on WC" as you described, Eric. Thanks. The used books on Amazon aren't expensive - usually $9 to $14 - and I may indulge myself on a second book...but I don't want to be like a friend who has many books and videos but doesn't paint much..... Gotta get going...And will look at the next Target store I find for the mats. Thanks, all | ||
Linda |
A vignette can fade to white on any one side, any two sides, any three sides or all four sides of the view presented. | ||
Eric |
Waterdog- The Croney book I have that has a chapter on vignettes is called "Croney on Watercolor". I hope that's the one you ordered. I couldn't remember the title and had to dig it out and I re-read the vignette information. He gives out some good, solid advice. It's a subject you don't see very often in watercolor instruction books. Good luck. | ||
jandrle |
Oh, Target sells these wonderful little double mats... squares in 8 x 10 and small rectangles in 5 x 7... great presentation for vignettes! | ||
jandrle |
I like Dake's definition of vignettes, I guess I paint them. I do little pieces of old houses etc. and they are very popular. I just never labeled them that before. I can't begin to list all that I have learned from this board. Thanks Jane | ||
waterdog |
Thanks Deke. Your definitions really sound more like my idea of a vignette - the main part of some scene or object(s) with the painting sort of fogging off to white in some corner(s). As you say, there are many ways to interpret an idea pictorially and one's idea may not conform to the 'rules'. And I did find a copy of a Croney book - several, in fact - on Amazon. I ordered one which is $9 and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. I will have time to check it out before I hand it over to my friend - and try some paintings myself. I have recommended this site to several artist friends, stating that they can find out most anything if they ask their questions here. It works !! | ||
Dake |
Vignettes do not have to comply with any design standard except that they are somehow abbreviated or extracted from a larger whole or concept. Don't get too hung up by the way others have designed their vignettes, dance to the beat of your own drum. Several definitions i garnered from different dictionaries are below. a short piece of writing, music, acting, etc. which clearly expresses the TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS of something or someone: She wrote several vignettes of small-town life. (from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary) : a picture (as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually into the surrounding paper b : the pictorial part of a postage stamp design as distinguished from the frame and lettering 2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position; hence, by extension, any small picture in a book; hence, also, as such pictures are often without a definite bounding line, any picture, as an engraving, a photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge. | ||
waterdog |
Thanks everyone ! I'm going to Amazon right now to see if Croney's book is there. And I copied this page and will mail it to my friend - she has been procrastinating about getting her computer online.....I really like vignettes and want to try some. Eric, your tips helped a lot, and fit in with the few paintings I have seen that could be called vignettes (I hope I have spelled that correctly. I was a math teacher, not teacher of English) | ||
PoppyMiller |
Claude Croney's books are availble at either Half.com or Amazon in the used books section. I just ran across them looking for other watercolor books, don't remember which site or it might have been both. Poppy | ||
Eric |
Also, Frank Webb talks a little bit about vignettes in one of his books. I think the title is something like, "Strengthen your Paintings through Composition" or something like that. I'm pretty sure it's out of print also but would be worthing seeking, since it's overall a truly outstanding book. | ||
Eric |
As I understand it, the subject should touch the edge of the paper once on at least 3 sides. (I usually see 4 sides) The white areas should all be different sizes and different and interesting shapes. The subject should be mostly mid-tone with incidental white or dark areas. A good source for learning about vignettes is Claude Croney. It seems like almost everything he painted was a vignette. Unfortunately, his books are now out of print. | ||
waterdog |
I have a friend who has just heard about painting these and I could give her only limited info. I have read that the subject should touch the edges of the paper on 3 sides, and that the white space should have a definite shape.For example,have a road as one side of white space, or the outline of a building. The idea being that you don't just fade the paint out to white in 3 corners. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks . |
