The human eye is naturally attracted to sharp angles and strong contrasts, such as light color next to really dark color. In paintings, these are called hard edges. Artists create hard edges to attract the viewer's attention to a certain section, usually the point of interest. In this portrait of my friend Miguel, the hard edges can be found on the outlines of his torso.
Then there are also the soft edges (or disappearing edges) that connects the main object to its background. (Hard edges all around will make the object look like a cutout.) Soft edges can be found on the right side of Miguel's hair, face and elbow. The right side of him has a cast shadow and seem to disappear into the dark hedge behind him.
Miguel
16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas board
