Lively Brushwork, Purposeful Color

When asked about his lively brushwork, Tom Francesconi points to his Italian heritage. "I am always gesturing with my hands," he says. "So you can imagine what happens when I pick up a brush!" Francesconi's direct and energized painting approach helps him achieve a sense of boldness and immediacy in his work. As part of his intuitive painting method, he relies on his instincts to determine both his color choices and how to apply the paint. "I try to let my color decisions be persuaded by what I feel rather than what I see," he continues. "A great deal of my color choices are less about what is and more about what could be or, based on the evolving painting, what should be. This approach reveals as much or more about the artist as it does about the subject and, for me, that is important."

Choosing the right colors for a painting?and then applying them with a lively brush?can make all the difference in a work's success. Francesconi keeps his work interesting by uniting a bold brush with emphatic and purposeful color statements. "The most important thing is to know what you want to say," he argues. "If you can nail down what your intentions are before you paint, your decisions about color and application are more likely to be correct.

"Making color decisions requires more than just knowing the actual color of something and being able to paint it," he continues. "In fact, that's the least of it. Being sensitive to the overall color balance of the painting is what matters. Instead of asking, 'What color is a tree?' It would be more appropriate to ask, 'What color should the tree be, considering the colors that already exist in the painting and those yet to come?' Knowing what you want to say will play a role in that decision. Color that is introduced into a painting that is out of sync with the surrounding color chords will look wrong, just as a sour note sounds wrong in music."

Francesconi's color choices are independent of the way he applies paint, but like his eye-catching brushstrokes, his color choices are made with the viewer's response in mind. "Any type of color change represents contrast, which draws the eye's attention," he says. "Such possibilities include complementary colors positioned as neighbors, pure color juxtaposed against muted or grayed color, warm color against cool color, and light color set against a darker color. In the case of a light color against a dark color, the attraction is really about a value change, rather than anything to do with color. If one of the two colors was dramatically different in hue, temperature, or intensity, combined with the change in value, then the attraction of the visual statement would become even more profound. Considering these possibilities in the creation of a painting can allow the artist to facilitate eye movement, and thereby orchestrate the viewer's attention."

Francesconi is quick to point out, however, that specific color choices are less important than establishing accurate value relationships. "Value relationships represent the bones or framework of a painting," the artist says. "Without them, a painting couldn't exist. They are of core importance to the design." Accordingly, Francesconi advocates the use of a value plan, one that is carefully and thoughtfully composed. "Design takes what would otherwise be chaotic and difficult to read?and therefore uncomfortable to look at?and makes it orderly, recognizable, and a more enjoyable viewing experience," he says.

Although colors pool and bleed and shift?always beautifully?in Along a County Road, this looseness is bolstered by a solid ordering scheme that makes the painting easy to read and easy to view. "My initial attraction to this scene was the cool shadow patterns in the snow set against the rich red of the barn on a sunny, but cold, winter morning," Francesconi recalls. "I chose manganese blue (for its sedimentary qualities) to represent the snow in shadow and cadmium red light for the barn. I painted in a direct fashion with brushwork that was decisive and used pure color to emphasize the drama I felt by the contrast of these two elements. To bring the painting to a finish, I balanced the large mass at right with the figure at left."

Another play of light and shadows?this time across an old brick building?resulted in Alley Cats, a painting of an alley on Chicago's West Side. "I used the old abandoned rails as a design element to direct the eye into the composition and tried to provide enough interest within the alley, by means of color and description, to make the viewer want to stay a while," Francesconi explains. "I tried not to labor the figures, as it was my intention to keep them a little vague to promote more interest. Color notes, such as the dab of orange on the garbage can at left, are intended to add interest in that area and invite the eye to look."

Francesconi describes his work as "loose and representational" and admires paintings that demonstrate mystery and invention. He notes that his work is edging toward a greater looseness or even a semiabstract quality of representation, particularly in paintings such as Rain Walkers, wherein he explores wet-in-wet applications. "For Rain Walkers I presoaked 300-lb paper to encourage the paint to bleed and promote soft edges while keeping my colors muted," he says. "This was all in an effort to help convey the gray, damp atmosphere of the occasion. My brush was loaded with pigment and little water?because the paper was already saturated?and I applied the paint in a very determined fashion. I had planned for pronounced color statements and strong value contrasts in the area of the figures to secure their place of prominence. This provided the excitement I was looking for, and in contrast to the surrounding environment, it is a visual treat."

To demonstrate the significant differences between a conservative, object-oriented approach to painting and the freer, shape- and value-oriented painting method he prefers, Francesconi created Boat With Pilings, No. 1 and Boat With Pilings, No. 2. "Boat With Pilings, No. 1 was an attempt to portray the subject pretty much as I saw it: a dark-hull boat resting in the water with a plain blue sky overhead and green hills in the background," the artist says. "My approach was rather careful and straightforward, beginning with a sky wash and progressing downward to the hills, water, and finally the boat and pilings in the foreground. I waited for each wash to dry before moving on to the next, adding the darker values as I went along. I placed the horizon in such a way as to divide the picture plane in half, a mundane beginning. To add insult to injury, a dark-gray boat, grayish brown pilings, blue water, and green trees are rather predictable. For the viewer, there are no discoveries to be made. Careful brushwork and my unwillingness to explore with color have led to an uninspired painting effort. One could reasonably conclude that I was more concerned about the depiction of things than I was about creating a painting."

For the second composition, however, Francesconi made use of energized and decisive brushwork, as well as richer and more inventive colors. "I attempted to convey my enthusiasm for my subject with the hope of bringing about a greater sense of excitement to an otherwise static composition," he says. "Here, my thinking has shifted away from a preoccupation with things to a more meaningful awareness of color, shapes, size relationships, dominance, and variety. I have embraced a change of attitude, one that is more bold and creative. Large gestural brushstrokes infuse the work with a sense of dynamism and help keep me away from the hesitant, careful handling of my earlier attempt. Paint is allowed to mix and mingle on the paper, as opposed to the palette. My darks are rich, juicy, and more colorful, and they help to breathe life into the painting. I determined that a distinctive warm color on the hull would be a striking change from the abundance of cooler temperatures that would surround it. This decision, and the more dynamic white of the cabin, elevate the boat to one of greater visual importance and help fulfill its role as a dominant shape within the composition. I believe the approach seen in the second painting better illustrates enthusiasm for the subject and invites the viewer to share in that enthusiasm and become more involved."

Not getting too comfortable with what has worked before, taking risks, and not being afraid to fail are among Francesconi's biggest stated challenges. So too, he says, are "embracing growth" and "keeping the world at bay to protect painting time." Combining his intuitive color choices and careful value plans with his characteristically active and lively brush is not an easy task either, although Francesconi's paintings demonstrate that he is up to the challenge. "How paint is applied can make a difference," he says. "A lively brush can infuse a sense of excitement into a painting. From a variety of edges to a mingling of paint, it can encourage any number of things to happen, all of which can provide more interest to a work. It isn't the only way to apply paint, but it can be a joyful experience for both the artist and the viewer. And it can make the difference between an uneventful piece of work and one that begs for attention."