Stream with Alders

Stream With Alders by Andrew Daniel

Oil on canvas 12" x 12"

This was an interesting experiment for me. I wanted to try using a Japanese composition technique called Notan. This is where the painting is devided into shadow shapes and light shapes, both need to be interesting compositionally. Then I built up the shadow and the light while being conscious of retaining their opposing identities.

The stream had looked overwhelmingly complex, but this device helped me to break it down and maintain some drama.