R.V. Robinson - The Spotlight Effect

Here's another Richard Robinson painting lesson.
This one is about ways of emphasising a centre-of-interest. I don't think the Pre-Raphaelites would have thought too much of this, with blurred, darkened, loose and thinned paint further away from a painting's focus. Nevertheless, it helps to be reminded that most successful paintings seem to have a point of interest. For plein air painters, faced with so much information, it is important to decide what is yours. And just like the lighting and the shadow pattern, it is important to stick with it, once you have made your decision and not be tempted to put in detail or a shaft of sunlight which was not part of the original plan when the painting was begun. Chasing such distractions almost always seems to lead to a disappointing result.
One point of note, is Robinson works from a rough, generalised painting and paints towards his focal area, refining and detailing as he goes.
Eric Michaels, in his excellent blog (http://www.enpleinairpro.com/EnPleinZone/newsletters/April11.html) discusses the same thing, but paints his detail 'to the nines' first and then works outwards to set it off against freer, broader brushwork on the rest of the painting. So, while the principle is the same, how you go about it is up to each artist to decide what suits him best.
Finally there is a useful 2nd part to the Michaels' blog in which he discusses a simple method for painting from photographs without being a slave to them. Recommended.