Defined

We often think of a boundary as something that reduces space. A wall divides it. An arch controls passage through it. A tree interrupts the view.

While working on Defined, I began to see the opposite possibility.

The monumental wall on the left conceals much of the surrounding environment. Dark tree trunks create another boundary on the right, while the arches repeatedly divide the street into smaller framed spaces. The composition reveals surprisingly little, yet I experienced the space as continuing far beyond what could actually be seen.

What interested me was the strange awareness created by everything that remained outside the image. The street disappears behind the wall. Parts of the buildings are concealed by trees. Each arch allows the eye to enter another section of the scene, but never gives access to the whole of it. The more the view is interrupted, the more conscious I become of what must exist beyond those interruptions. Without the wall, more of the physical environment would be visible, but the sensation of depth might become weaker. The wall gives the unseen space an edge. The trees do the same from the opposite side. Each arch reveals one space while withholding another.

This changed the way I thought about the composition. I was no longer painting only what was visible in front of me. I was also working with the presence of what could not be included. The boundaries became a way of suggesting continuation rather than closure.

In developing this original watercolour painting, I wanted those boundaries to remain present rather than soften into a conventionally picturesque Italian street. The large cool wall deliberately occupies an uncomfortable amount of the composition. The trees interrupt rather than decorate. Even the distant light remains dispersed instead of becoming a destination for the eye.

Watercolour allowed me to reinforce that tension between structure and uncertainty. Some architectural forms remain clearly defined, while washes, broken edges and shifts in pigment allow other areas to dissolve. The street is recognisable, but it never becomes completely available to the viewer. There is always another space implied beyond the one currently visible.

This is where Defined connects to my wider exploration of thresholds. A threshold does not always need to be crossed. Sometimes its significance lies simply in making us aware that something continues on the other side. The visible space becomes smaller while the perceived space expands. That distinction became central to Defined.