VIGNETTING

The technique of vignetting, a term used in oil painting, which means to shade off gradually into the background, blends the oils and mixes the colors nicely. The artist loads an ample amount of paint to the tip of each brush and then strokes the brush in a crisscross fashion across the canvas. Although the colors blend beautifully, as the light hits the canvas at different angles, to my way of thinking, the technique sometimes looks rather artificial.

Tonight, however, as I was admiring the beautiful sunset and thinking how wonderful it would be to have such a large canvas on which to express myself, I noticed bold strokes of color which crisscrossed and remarkably resembled the technique of vignetting. Splashes of color--Alizarin Red, Cadmium Orange and Yellow, Moss Green, and hints of Sepia--dotted the horizon. I imagined a gigantic sable paint brush dabbing and stroking against the canvas of the sky. What Technicolor! What technique! What splendor! But with each passing minute, the hues and texture of the sky morphed and gradually the sun lowered behind the mountain leaving only a hint of color and the faded memory of Chinese White, Payne's Grey, and a dab of Thalo Blue. The Technicolor sky was almost gone but the Great Artist's impression of vignetting left a lasting memory of beauty. What a marvelous sight!