Use of borders and type in portraits

[Chris Saper]

Hi Joan,

Thanks for starting the thread. I am very intrigued with the compositional notion of borders. This painting , 'Hibiscus" (oil, 12" x 16") is one of a series called "Western Faces/American Places", which I have painted for the upcoming Phippen Museum Show in Prescott AZ, Memorial Day Weekend.

The background is an invented Indian trade blanket design. By placing the border at the left, I could move the figure to the right, respecting the "sight-line" direction established by the gaze, and accomplish two things: stop the eye, and direct it back into the canvas by placing arrow-like patterns in the border. At first I had painted the background with a lot more precision, but it fought the overall nature of the painting, so I did a little, as they say, deconstruction. I worked with all of the reds quite a bit to place them on different visual planes.