Painting a place like Bamburgh is all about capturing the nuances that make the place special. In most cases the castle is the attraction, however for this piece in particular the castle was just one element of the painting with the focus being on the moment itself.
The aim for this piece was to be more minimalistic with detail, so the viewer could be more encapsulated with the surroundings allowing them to gaze around as if they had just arrived at Bamburgh and they were trying to take everything in. To do this, I made sure to have enough minimalism balanced with enough detail. Approaching the painting this way allows the edges of objects to appear softer which enables the eye to wander around the painting so the viewer can feel as if they were at Bamburgh.
The softness in the edges was used to subtract focus from one area so the eye could wander around the painting. Hard edges bring realism, soft edges bring movement and for this painting it was about finding the balance between the two. A complimentary balance of the two required multiple layers of paint, but deliberately limiting the brush selection to flat and round brushes meant that the detail was kept to a minimal. Smaller brushes were avoided throughout the painting to make sure one area of the painting was not overpowering the other.
Bamburgh is one of those places where people go for different reasons and attach their own meaning to it, in this case the purpose of this painting was to try and capture that and allow the viewer to attach their own meaning to the painting without having too much emphasis on one area. Painting in this way allows the viewer to focus on different areas at once and allows the painting to be more of an experience than a representation which is what makes Bamburgh special.