Fractal Landscape Painting and the Paintbrush: An Observation
Doug Anderson
Just an observation: The quick and dirty paintings (real ones, not
computer-generated) which one sees in bargain art stores are generated
pretty quickly -- almost mass produced. Even so, they often have a
"real" quality to them. One thing I thought is that the paintbrush
itself, i.e., the bristles, are glopped together by the paint in a
self-similar pattern. There are big glops of bristles, and smaller
and smaller, etc. This fractal distribution (I'm assuming) of the
bristles is what generates the realistic (I'm stretching a bit here)
painting, along with the artist's self-similar distribution of the
brush strokes or dabs.
Any comments?
Doug Anderson
A geophysicist, not a mathematician OR and artist.
Richard Maddox
DA>Just an observation: The quick and dirty paintings (real ones, not
DA>computer-generated) which one sees in bargain art stores are
DA>generated pretty quickly -- almost mass produced. Even so, they
DA>often have a "real" quality to them. One thing I thought is that
DA>the paintbrush itself, i.e., the bristles, are glopped together by
DA>the paint in a self-similar pattern. There are big glops of
DA>bristles, and smaller and smaller, etc. This fractal distribution
DA>(I'm assuming) of the bristles is what generates the realistic (I'm
DA>stretching a bit here) painting, along with the artist's
DA>self-similar distribution of the brush strokes or dabs.
I'm not a practicing artist but do have a B.A. in Art. What creates
"realism" in any "realistic" image is the distribution of light and
dark, ie: sunlight and shadow. A realistic image mimics the cues our
brains uses to identify objects and perspective. A good way to see how
to disrupt these cues is to take two images that are lit from two
different directions, cut a piece from one and paste it to the other.
No matter how well you blend the cut image into the other image it
will never look quite right. Brush strokes can contribute to this
phenomenon but are not necessary to it. For example, the artistic
school known as Photorealism strives to produce paintings that have
the look and smoothness of photographs, and brushwork is virtually
unnoticeable unless you get up VERY close to the painting.
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* CMPQwk #1.42* UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY
Rodger Whitlock
[quote condensed}
>...quick and dirty paintings...often have a "real" quality to them.
>...the paintbrush itself [is] glopped together by the paint in a
>self-similar pattern... This fractal distribution of the bristles
>generates the realistic painting, along with the artist's self-similar
>distribution of the brush strokes or dabs.
Take a look at "Painting Techniques of the Great Masters" written by one
of the folks at the National Gallery in Washington DC. Copiously
illustrated including closeups of brushwork of many artists. It will help
you decide whether your interesting thesis holds up in the face of more
evidence.
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Rodger Whitlock