Squinting and Defocusing

[Richard Robinson]

Hi All,
Just got one of those funny emails people send around. Usually I don't bother with them because I'm so busy, but this one actually caught my eye because...

... the email said "When you look at this picture you see it's Albert Einstein....But if you stand 15 feet away it will become Marilyn Monroe."

Being an artist who already knows the importance of squinting and defocusing I didn't have to get up and stand back 15 feet - I just squinted and defocused my eyes at the same time and... hey, yeah, there's Norma Jeane.

What's happening? Squinting and defocusing is stopping your eyes (and therefor your brain) from seeing and concentrating on all the fiddly details, and forcing you to concentrate on the large masses of light and dark, which is what all good painting is based on.

So I thought it's a good reminder to use this powerful tool as much as you can when you're painting, and not get confused by all the fiddly stuff.

Happy Painting,
Richard