Focal Point; to be or not to be?

Cavolofiori Colori, Colorful Caulifowers by Marian Dioguardi, c2018. Oil on panel 16 X 20 in

The focal point is an area or a subject, in a painting, that dominates the viewer's eye. It's a useful and necessary device for a narrative painting and when there is a primary subject around which the rest of painting is composed to support. Formal painting has always stressed the importance of having a focal point in a composition.  I have used focal point. It's like an underlying melody of a song that you can hum. It brings structure and order to a painting. 

Non-focal painting is more like jazz. It stimulates the eye and the viewers to explore to make order (or not).

My interest in the contemporization the "still life" genre has brought me to non-focal still life where I paint multiple areas of interest with multiple areas treated equally. Why do I do this? Because that's how I see. Great big heaps of colorful objects make me want to paint. They energizes my eye. The goal is to make the entire painting a focal point. In this way my still lives have similarities with abstracts which are traditionally non-focal; think Jackson Pollack.

Interestingly I have returned to my origins of still life painting: painting fruits and vegetables. My interest was renewed by my trip to Sicily and the abundance of the Sicilian market place in Catania. The entire experience is a nonfocal experience. Everything cries out for attention from the songs of the fish mongers to the beauty of the produce. I wanted to paint it all and so......

Arance Siciliani, Sicilian Oranges by Marian Dioguard c2018. Oil on aluminum panel, 12 X 12 

Arance di Misilmeri by Marian Dioguardi c2018. Oil on aluminum panel, 12 X 12