Always Designing -150

A discussion of the work of Benson in the light of his point to his daughter that one is always designing in making a picture. The “impressionist” mind, unlike some imaginative painters does not simply resolve his design at the start and then noodle up the likeness of the components making a few final, if important, corrections at the end.

In response to Richard I

QUESTION: “You will always get into trouble unless you design all the time you are painting. Stop designing and you are in trouble. “ This bit from Benson’s notes to his daughter got me wondering: Does this mean that one should always be “painting the design” i.e. not necessarily adding, subtracting, or moving parts, though that may be needed, but to always think in terms of painting the arabesque or main features of the design, irrespective of particular objects, using light effects as key elements from start to finish?
Richard I