Spindly Stems 11.14.14

Still focusing on composition practice -
- subject & background - each are very distinct in my view
- balance - ok with attention to both tones, height and shadows
- point of view - not evident here
- simplicity - the lines (real stems and shadows) lend themselves nicely to a simple but powerful image.

Thinking about subject and background leads to the concept of figure/ground - the most familiar image being the Rubin vase - and the idea of contrast or more definitively, 'black and white'. At one level, we know our world is full of 'gray' with blended definition of both ends of the continuum...but at the other end, we seek a definitive response that doesn't have the ragged edges. So, perhaps, the subject/background (i.e., figure/ground) concept is really an illusion. :)
Naples, Fl