Landscape Painting - Beauty You Can't Fake It...

After yesterdays scary bear, I'm thinking we'll get into beauty today.

In 1990 when I did that bear, I was 25 years old and still occasionally buying comic books. As a young artist I was far more interested in clever, coolness than beauty. 

As the years have passed, more and more I've been attracted to the beautiful in art.

As today's title states. You cannot fake beauty. 

Something can be clever, cool, striking even but to be beautiful. It must be well crafted and work on sound artistic principles.

"By the Shore" (6x9) by M Francis McCarthy

It may be true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but it is also true that this truism is often invoked to defend second rate art or cleverness disguised as art.

After years of being clever eventually, as an artist I had to decide was sort of art that I wanted to leave in this world. 

I want to make pictures that bring folks some insight, rest and comfort. That's not all that's going on but it is definitely a big apart of what I'm after.This goal is strongly supported by trying to achieve beauty in my work.

A bit about today's painting. It was done after a trip my wife made to visit me in California before we were married. 

The summer was scorching hot at that time in California except on the coast where were touring. There, it was blissfully foggy,nice and cool. That's reflected in the painting too I hope.

This painting exhibits a strong Tonalist pallet and was an early attempt at using a Tonalist vocabulary in my painting. 

The 6x9 size is due to my fixation on the golden mean as a painting proportion. I stayed with that proportion well into my New Zealand painting career. We'll get more into proportions later. They are fascinating with the golden mean being especially so.

If you're a student, I recommend looking at and dissecting some work you consider beautiful. Create some yourself. It actually feels great to try.

Cheers,