Cracks in footpath, Balmain
We notice what’s familiar. What’s familiar is part of a family. Being part of a family feels good. If it’s part of a family it registers as more real than imagined.
The photo shows a crack in the footpath. I am drawn to It because it is like what I have been painting. I have been painting trees in the landscape. This photo shows that while my backgrounds have been accurate in the paintings, I have strayed too close to what a tree looks like, rather than let it be more treelike, like this crack is, treelike.
Painting (unfinished)
The crack is more treelike than the painting of the tree(s) by being less obsessed by the tree’s anatomy. Also, the crack has an easier relationship with the ground, which aids its ‘treeness’.
The trunk of the tree/crack is bolder, more agonised, more likely to be seen here than my painted trees.
My tree invention is less adventurous than the crack/tree’s invention. The crack/tree even has even dropped several leaves on the ground.
These considerations help to explain why the photo of the crack is familiar. It’s family.