The function of “The Idea” -165

Discussing the “idea” as it pertains to painting. Nothing is done without ideas, concepts, but there are various understandings of what they are and how they are used in impressionist painting. This gives a glimpse of various uses of ideas mostly as it pertains to painting from life.

In response to Genius2

QUESTION: But surely, Paul, even with the most naive eye, you are still painting an idea of what you see. Western painting has always been a mixture of both. Vermeer did not purely paint what he saw. I agree representing and understanding visual nature is the most important thing an artist should learn, but that alone does not create great paintings.

Genius2