LOREN FRIESEN GALLERY

Picnic in Early Spring: the artist's view

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More than once, I unsuccessfully attempted to add color to Picnic in Early Spring. But it didn't look right. Black and white just looked better. But what finally gave me confidence in that decision was when two, different people picked this print out of my other prints and giving it unsolicited praise. It caused me to look at the picture differently–for what it had, as opposed to what it did not have.

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If you ask a Japanese, "What is your favorite color?" a fair number of people will answer black or white. But Americans rarely seem to choose one of those colors as their favorite.* In fact, Americans often think of black & white as non-color or the absence of color–monochrome–as though something is missing. But in traditional, Japanese brush & ink drawings, or in woodblock prints, white often functions as a color. It isn't just blank paper in the background–it has the energy and character of color. For example, in the same picture, white can in some places appear to be in front of black (or another color) and in other places appear to be behind it.

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​The white sky in Picnic in Early Spring is not blank, but creates negative shapes with presence.​ In the remainder of the picture, the absence of "color" allows other elements of art to shine. Varied textures are prominent everywhere in this picture. These textures, and lines, become more prominent because they are in black and white rather than competing with "color."

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Many textures flow around the creek. And the graceful, vertical lines of the tree trunks in the left foreground counter the creek bend, creating a kind of large D-shape. This tree, along with the dark tree on the right, bookends the open space where the family sits. And the details of the sod along the bottom of the picture draw the viewer right up onto the edge of that space.

 

​* Fashion design, interior design and product design in America (in recent years) is an exception, favoring monochrome design.