One way to "resolve" the riddle is by bring the universal elements into one's painting -- what can be called "the undifferentiated aesthetic continuum" or what th Chinese call Tao. You can see this, at least in part, in this work:
Several things to note: The "macchia" in this painting is very simple:
The 2-value pattern consists in a small light area at the top and a bigger, dark area below. Capturing this simplifies 2-value macchia is the critical first step. But beyond that, only the simplest depiction of light areas from flower blossoms inside of the dark area creates an "aesthetic atmosphere" wherein the focus is the aesthetic field or continuum itself, not any particular object or objects.
The Workshop emphaized ideas in landscape painting: macchia, 2-value studies, 4-value studies, color and line macchie, and "grand theory" in the British tradition. We linked to Japanese and Chinese ideas about landscapes, especially via Zen and Taoism and we did some T'ai Chi, QiGong, and "pushing hands."
Saturday was "tree day" and we studies approaches to painting trees. starting with the 2-value macchia:
Then adding darks:
Elaborating:
Adding color:
Then the all important "scrape out" stage:
Note: trees-as-a-mass are treated as one large shape. Also abstract elements are not sacrificed. Trees remain gestural and still reveal their individual personalities, a bit.
