discussion about the effects of the drip and the blog on the composition of the image Color Field #4 from two days ago peaked my interest enough I sat down and tried all the suggestions. The results are shown below. The voting lines are now open, i.e., let me know what you think.
Original image:
Image without the drip:
Image with the shadows removed:
Image with angled drip:
Cropped image:
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My top 2 are the original and the original sans drip.
Larry,
Definitely do not like the angled drip. Cropped version feels too cramped; I like the negative space of the longer side. Still like the original image the best and the one without the drip & blob 2nd best. I think if you are completely successful at removing the shadows for the drip(s), then we can’t see them at all and the image becomes #2. The fact that I can still perceive the long drip (not the small gray one) in version #3 means there is still a shadow creating some separation (edge) between the drip and the surroundings. So for me this actually becomes another option: keep the “line” drip, remove the “circle” drip. That’s okay with me too.
In the end, what you prefer may be different when it becomes part of a portfolio of color field images. You may want the variety the drips provide or you may find that version too distracting from your main emphasis.
Kathy
Now, I think I see merits for the image without the drip. It occurs to me that the drip makes it too obvious that this is “paint” and detracts a bit from just enjoying the nice arrangement of color. Do you remember my telling you about the comments of a reviewer of my abstract honeycomb painting with a bee as what I thought was the center of interest? He said, “Is that a bee? My God, that is a bee. Well if it is, it’s too bad.”
Betty, I do remember the bee comment. And it was my original thought that the paint drip distracted from the arrangement of simple shapes and color, which is the whole point of the color field thing (for me anyway). Adding a drip (or a bee) may make for an interesting composition, but it wasn’t the point of this one.
The original with the drips removed is my favorite after all. After viewing the images as a group, it seems to be the one that best retains the uninterrupted beauty of color field painting.
Thanks Janet, and everyone else for your reactions. My choice, as I suspected, was also for the one with the drips removed. It’s what I saw when I took the photo. I didn’t really notice the drip until I looked at it on the computer.
You’re welcome, Larry. And your comment is telling…you didn’t “see” the drip at the time of exposure. So sans drip it is. Glad the discussion helped you confirm your choice.
Kathy