Summary:
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the artist conveys deep emotions through the clever layout of composition, the rich use of color, and the unique treatment of brushstrokes in landscape oil painting. The article first summarizes the theoretical basis of composition, color, and brushstrokes as the basic elements of emotional expression, and then analyzes the specific applications of the three in practical creation, including how to guide the viewer's emotions through composition, how color affects emotional perception, and how brushstrokes reflect the painter's inner world.
I. Introduction
As an important branch of artistic creation, the history of landscape painting can be traced back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries in the Netherlands and Italy, when painters began to go out of the studio and paint directly with nature. With the rise of interest in the observation and representation of nature during the Renaissance, landscape painting gradually became independent from the background of religious painting and figure painting, and became an independent type of painting.
In the 19th century, the rise of the Impressionist movement pushed outdoor sketching to a climax, and artists such as Monet, Pissarro and others pursued the instant capture of light and shadow changes, making landscape oil painting not only a technical innovation, but also a new way of emotional expression. In the 20th century, with the development of modernist art schools, the form and connotation of landscape oil painting became more diversified, and artists began to pay more attention to personalized expression and expression of inner emotions.
In the context of contemporary art, landscape oil painting still maintains its unique artistic value. It is not only a medium for artists to dialogue and self-reflection with nature, but also a bridge between tradition and modernity, nature and humanity. In today's deepening globalization and digitalization, landscape oil painting provides people with a spiritual habitat away from the hustle and bustle and return to nature with its unique humanistic care and deep understanding of natural beauty, and its artistic status is irreplaceable.
2. The emotional basis of landscape oil painting
A. The connection between nature and emotion
Natural landscapes have been an important source of inspiration for artists since ancient times. Mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, the sun, moon and stars, the four seasons, each natural scenery contains different emotional colors and life philosophies. When the artist is surrounded by nature, he can often feel the tranquility, magnificence, sorrow or vitality beyond the everyday, and these intuitive feelings are like catalysts, activating the deep emotional waves in his heart. For example, the gentle light of the first morning light may evoke an artist's feelings of joy and hope for a new life; The dead branches and leaves in the bleak autumn breeze may touch the contemplation of the passage of time and life. This emotional response triggered by nature has become the most direct and sincere creative motivation for landscape oil painting, prompting the artist to record and convey this emotional experience through the canvas.
B. Balance between subjectivity and objectivity in emotional expression
In landscape oil painting, how to faithfully reproduce the natural landscape while integrating personal emotions to achieve the harmony and unity of subjectivity and objectivity is an esoteric art. On the one hand, artists need to have a keen sense of observation to accurately capture natural forms, light and shadows, and colors to ensure the realism and vividness of the picture.
On the other hand, they also need to use composition, color and brushstrokes to subtly integrate personal emotional colors into the picture, so that the works are not only natural beauty, but also rich in personalized artistic expression. For example, the use of exaggerated color contrasts to enhance the emotional atmosphere, or the use of the roughness and delicacy of the brushstrokes to reflect the ups and downs of inner emotions are all strategies for the artist to balance subjective emotions with objective representation. This balance is not only a technical consideration, but also a reflection of the artist's deep understanding of nature, self and the essence of art.
C. Emotional expression and aesthetic experience
The emotional expression in landscape oil painting not only affects the creative process of the work, but also deeply affects the aesthetic experience of the audience. When the viewer gazes at a landscape painting, they are not just looking at a landscape, but also experiencing an emotional transmission through the artist's eyes and heart. The color matching, light and shadow effects, and line direction in the picture are all mediums for emotional communication, guiding the audience into an emotional world constructed by the artist.
For example, bright and warm tones may evoke a pleasant mood in the viewer, while cool tones and blurred outlines may create a melancholy or mysterious atmosphere. This aesthetic interaction, based on the emotional resonance between the artist and the audience, makes each viewing experience a unique and emotionally rich spiritual journey. Therefore, emotional expression is not only the core of artistic creation, but also the key bridge connecting artists and audiences and stimulating deep aesthetic experiences.
3. Convey the emotion of the composition
A. Basic Principles of Composition and Emotional Orientation
As the foundation of visual art, composition is not only the arrangement and combination of elements on the picture, but also the guide of emotional flow. Classical compositional rules such as the golden section, the rule of thirds, the S-shaped curve, etc., each mode contains a specific emotional orientation. The picture under the golden ratio gives people a sense of harmony and balance, and it is easy to guide the viewer into a state of calm or awe; The rule of thirds stimulates the interest of visual exploration through asymmetrical balance, adding a sense of dynamism and vitality to the picture; The S-shaped curve, on the other hand, is smooth and elegant, and is often used to express continuous or soft emotions, guiding the gaze to move slowly and create a narrative emotional experience. The composition is not just a formal arrangement, it is a silent dialogue with the viewer through the careful orchestration of visual language, guiding their emotions to flow along the path designed by the artist.
B. Emotional impact of spatial layout
The layout of the space is a key factor in shaping the emotional atmosphere in the composition. The open space makes people feel free, expansive and hopeful, as if they can breathe the fresh air outside the painting, stimulating their inner yearning and release; Conversely, a closed or compact space may bring a sense of oppression, tension or intimacy, making the viewer feel a sense of security or restraint in being surrounded.
The treatment of the foreground and background is also crucial, with the rich and clear details of the foreground to bring the viewer closer to the viewer and enhance the sense of reality and participation, while the treatment of the background can extend the depth of the picture and create a profound or dreamlike mood. For example, emphasizing the loneliness of the foreground characters by blurring the background, or using the strong contrast between the foreground and the background to represent the passage of time, are all effective ways for the layout of a space to affect the emotional atmosphere.
C. Perspective selection and emotional intensity
The choice of different perspectives can significantly enhance the expressiveness of emotions. From a bird's-eye perspective, the scenery appears small, which can easily arouse the audience's sense of pity, detachment or control, which is suitable for showing grand scenes or conveying lofty and calm emotions; The upward view is the opposite, it can magnify the subject, create a sense of sublime, awe or insignificance, suitable for expressing heroic or religious themes, and enhance the sense of drama and power of the picture.
The heads-up perspective is the closest to the natural observation of the human eye, giving people a sense of intimacy and reality, suitable for depicting scenes of daily life, and conveying an equal and objective emotional attitude. The choice of perspective not only changes the presentation of physical space, but also profoundly affects the psychological distance and emotional investment of the audience, which is an important means for artists to strengthen emotional expression and construct a specific atmosphere. Through a well-designed perspective, the artist is able to lead the viewer to examine the world from a unique perspective, experiencing those emotional dimensions that are overlooked in the everyday.
Fourth, the emotional language of color
A. Principles of Color Psychology
Color is inextricably linked to human emotions, and this connection is rooted in human physical and psychological responses. Warm colors, such as red, yellow, and orange, are often associated with sunlight and firelight, and can inspire emotions of warmth, vitality, excitement, and even anger. Red is often seen as a symbol of passion and love, but it can also trigger feelings of danger and warning; Yellow conveys happiness and optimism, but it can also cause uneasiness or anxiety; Orange blends the warmth of red with the joy of yellow, conveying warmth and friendliness.
In contrast, cool tones such as blue, green, purple give a sense of tranquility, peace, and coolness. Blue is associated with the sea and the sky, and often evokes feelings of tranquility, stability, and even melancholy. Green represents nature and growth, giving people the impression of restoration, hope and security; Purple combines the warmth of red with the calmness of blue, symbolizing mystery, luxury and creativity. The psychological effects of these colors provide artists with a wealth of tools for emotional expression.
B. Color matching and emotional layering
In the creation of landscape oil painting, the contrast and harmony of colors are important strategies to construct emotional levels and express complex emotions. The use of contrasting colors, such as red and green, blue and orange, can create a strong visual impact, evoking conflict, tension or excitement, and is suitable for expressing intense emotional collisions or dramatic changes in a scene.
The combination of adjacent or similar colors creates a harmonious and unified atmosphere, such as a gradient of light and dark blue, which delicately depicts the tranquil beauty of morning or twilight, evoking inner peace and contemplation. The brightness and saturation changes of color are also effective means to adjust the emotional intensity, and the high-saturation colors appear vivid and lively, while the low-saturation colors are more restrained and calm. By finely adjusting the collocation and change of colors, the artist is able to construct the emotional depth of the three-dimensional space on the two-dimensional canvas, allowing the viewer to feel a multi-layered and multi-dimensional emotional experience.
C. Symbolism and metaphor of color
Color carries a wealth of symbolic meanings in different cultural contexts, and these symbolisms play a deep role in the emotional expression of landscape oil painting. For example, in Chinese culture, red is not only a symbol of festivity and auspiciousness, but also often used to express emotions of revolution and sacrifice. In Western culture, white symbolizes purity and peace, while black is associated with mourning and death. By excavating and recreating the symbolic meanings of these colors, artists can deepen the cultural heritage of their works and give them a deeper connotation of emotional expression.
The choice and use of specific colors can be a tribute to a certain culture, or a metaphor for social phenomena, such as the use of gray tones to depict the landscape of an industrial city, a metaphor for the alienation of the relationship between man and nature in the process of industrialization. The symbolic and metaphorical functions of color make landscape oil painting transcend visual representation and become a bridge for the exchange of emotions and ideas, allowing the audience to perceive the artist's unique understanding and emotional projection of the world in the language of color.
5. The emotional imprint of the brushstrokes
A. Stroke style and emotional state
In the creation of landscape oil painting, brushstrokes are not only the physical traces of material pigments on the canvas, but also the direct reflection of the artist's mind and emotions. The delicate brushstrokes, like a drizzle, reveal the softness and delicacy of the artist's heart, and are often used in scenes depicting tranquil lakes and delicate flower petals, which are delicate and nuanced, conveying a calm and sensitive emotional state. On the contrary, the rough brushstrokes, like a storm in a storm, show the artist's strong emotions and impulses, which may be used to express the craggy rocks and the turbulence of the waves, reflecting the uninhibited and powerful inner life of the artist.
The smooth brushstrokes flow freely like a stream, reflecting the coherence of the artist's thoughts and the smoothness of his emotions, which is suitable for expressing the vastness of the sky and the leisurely wandering of the clouds, and such brushstrokes make people feel the artist's ease and ease. Each brushstroke style is a true portrayal of the artist's emotional state, allowing the viewer to glimpse the fluctuations of his inner world through the form and strength of the brushstrokes.
B. The rhythm and emotional flow of the brushstrokes
The priority of the brushstrokes constitutes the emotional rhythm of the picture, which is like the melody of music, guiding the viewer's emotional ups and downs. The light and continuous brushstrokes, like a cheerful melody, bring people joy and anticipation; The heavy and staccato brushstrokes resemble adagio movements, evoking deep reflection and reflection. In the process of painting, the artist controls the force exerted by the brushstrokes, spreading the colors quickly and slowly, creating emotional fluctuations and flows.
When depicting the warm glow of sunrise, the fast and bright brushstrokes can simulate the transience of light, conveying a positive mood of rebirth and hope; In expressing the oppressive atmosphere before the storm, the slow and heavy brushstrokes can create an atmosphere of tension and unease. The rhythmic change of the brushstrokes is a visual embodiment of the flow of emotion, which makes the picture full of vitality and dynamic beauty.
C. Texture and emotional depth of the brushstrokes
The texture of the brushstrokes, i.e. the thickness and texture of the pigments on the canvas, has a decisive impact on the conveyance of the emotional depth of the work. Impasto, a technique that uses the heavy stacking of pigments to create a three-dimensional and vivid surface, enhances the texture and strength of the picture, and makes the expression of emotions more direct and intense. When depicting the mottled walls of ancient buildings or the dense vegetation of forests, the impasto brushstrokes not only enhance the tactile and realistic sense of the picture, but also convey the vicissitudes of time and the vigorous vitality of nature at a deeper level.
In contrast, glazing creates a delicate and transparent effect by superimposing multiple layers of transparent or translucent pigments, which is suitable for expressing air perspective, the clarity of the water surface, or the hazy scene of a dream, adding a dreamy, soft emotional dimension to the work. The difference in the texture of the brushstrokes not only enriches the language of the picture, but also deepens the emotional layer, so that the viewer can feel the subtlety and profundity of the artist's emotions in different visual and tactile experiences.
6. Comprehensive application and innovative practice
A. Synergies of the three elements
In landscape oil painting, the three elements of composition, color, and brushstrokes do not exist in isolation, they are intertwined and support each other, and together they build the emotional world of the work. As the basic framework, the composition guides the flow of the audience's gaze through the layout and arrangement of elements, and lays the emotional tone of the picture. The color is given the color of the mood of the picture through the contrast of cold and warm, light and shade processing, etc., and the expression of emotions is deepened. As a direct extension of the artist's emotions, the brushstrokes further strengthen the intuitive feeling of emotions through the changes in texture and rhythm.
The synergy of the three is like the various instruments in a symphony, and only when they are in harmony can they play a shocking movement. For example, when depicting a lonely distant mountain, the artist may adopt a simple composition, placing the main mountain peak on one side of the picture, leaving a blank space to trigger infinite reverie; Through the use of cool colors, it creates an atmosphere of loneliness and tranquility; At the same time, delicate and slightly melancholy brushstrokes are used to enhance the sense of loneliness in the picture. This combination requires a high degree of sensitivity and skill on the part of the artist in order to maximize the expression of emotion.
B. Innovative techniques and emotional breakthroughs
The life of art lies in continuous innovation. In the practice of landscape oil painting, artists are encouraged to constantly explore and try new techniques, in order to reach new heights of emotional expression. This may include the use of mixed media, such as combining acrylic, oil paint, and other materials to create a unique visual effect; Or use modern digital technology to assist in creation, such as capturing momentary light and shadow through photography, and then combining hand-painting for secondary creation, so as to capture indescribable emotional details.
In addition, you can explore the unconventional rules of composition, break the conventional perspective, and use surreal techniques to reveal inner emotions in unexpected ways. Through these innovative practices, the artist is able to break through the traditional framework and open up new paths for emotional expression, making his works more personal, profound and contemporary.
C. Challenges and solutions in practice
The practice of emotional expression in landscape painting is not always easy, and artists may face a variety of challenges. First of all, environmental factors such as weather changes and unstable light conditions can directly affect the effect of on-site sketching, so carrying a portable parasol, flexibly adjusting the painting time, or using sketching to capture key moments are all effective coping strategies. Secondly, the balance between emotion and technique is also a problem, and too much attention to technique may lead to a lack of emotional warmth in the work, and vice versa, it may lead to a lack of skill.
The solution lies in continuous practice and reflection, accumulating experience through a lot of sketching, while maintaining a keen perception of nature and life, and letting the skills serve the expression of emotions. Finally, in the face of bottlenecks in creation, artists should have the courage to try new themes and techniques, and even temporarily leave the easel to draw inspiration from reading and traveling, so as to maintain the vitality and freshness of their creation. In short, in the face of challenges, persistence in exploration and self-transcendence is the indispensable spirit of every artist on the road of emotional expression.
Author: Lu Xilin
Bibliography:
Color and Emotion: Color Theory from the Perspective of Art Psychology
The Secret of Composition – The Visual Language of Masters
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