Atelier:  HenryWingate’s Studio
 
See how the north light glances the plaster cast
and the shadows shape an ancient head.
Move your eyes to see the whole.
 
Whatever we look at directly appears in sharp focus –
a crevasse in the brow, a broken nose, a drooping lid,
but this is not the look of the whole.
 
Step back and turn your head away to dance as an artist.
 
Treasure the lost areas, where values in contrast and colormerge.
Squint, glance quickly, back away and
notice how detail diminishes but the light remains.
 
By all means follow the light and uncover the shadows, thehalf-tones,
how they bend and round a peach on a Chardin canvas,
how the brown pitcher glows.
 
The lock of eyes and brain may deceive you.
Follow instead a mild north light in a silent room,
and by all means surround yourself with oils,
but first, find the beauty in the light
and draw carefully what you see.