Foreground vs. Background

ⓒ Barbara Goodsitt

Here is a new project from my Colored Pencil Drawing class at Washtenaw Community College. The purpose of this project is to teach the student-artist how to differentiate the foreground from the background when painting or drawing.

The artist can blur the background and keep the foreground in focus. One can also use more intense colors in the foreground. This project demonstrates both approaches. I also utilized the impressed line technique with the veins in the leaves and in my signature. 

Coincidentally, there was  a recent article in the Huffington Post about a new 4D camera that will take interactive photos. It allows you to select and adjust the point of focus in your photo after it has been taken. The camera sharpens and intensifies your chosen point of focus, and blurs the other areas by using data it collects from 11 million rays of light!