On Vacation

On Vacation

Night Flowers

This painting was recently created by me at weekend art workshop.  It started out as an abstract painting.  The lines of color against the black background are the remains of the abstraction.  Suddenly, after putting down some yellow ochre  flowers started emerging and I went with the flow.
Here are some close-ups.  Click on the images to have a bigger view.

Night Flowers

Inner landscapes: A brush with abstraction

This latest painting was created during an intensive creative weekend workshop.  The purpose was to create an abstract painting with a few figurative elements, all the while exploring the concept of inner landscapes or inner self with outer landscapes.  Trying to create the parallel between both isn’t so easy when you are trying to be abstract.

This work of art is also like a landscape, in the sense that it’s a piece of land and self with a unique point of view, the view of the observer.  This inner landscape has many meanings.  And if you see something in it, then it’s your own interpretation.  Take a minute before reading on and explore it, and try and give it a sense.

The sense it has for me is multidimensional.  First, some part of the painting are very busy, just like my mind and my life.  All the while other parts seem more tranquil and relaxed.

The trees that you will find are representative of an ever-growing love for arts, for knowledge and awareness.

 

The focus of interest is a more relaxed, serene scene that may remind some of a body of water.  This wasn’t my intention.  The colors have a more profound significance.  The white is to remind us of innocence and purity, while the blue reflects interior force and peace of mind.  You might have noticed those black stains. Indeed they stain the happiness and goodness of life.

Circles have always been very symbolic throughout the history of art.  Here they are a reminder of the cycle of life and a reminder to avoid vicious cycles.

A reminder to let thing flow and go.

Energy.

More circles.

These last three pictures don’t have a specific meaning, but are shown as close-ups.

Inner landscapes: A brush with abstraction

Australian Aboriginal Art

Australian Aboriginal Art

I just discovered this artist's blog the other day. She is great at what shes does and brings loads of insights and fascinating comments to her art and to art she has seen. Her post on Australian Aborignal Art is amazing. A must see!

Australian Aboriginal Art

Principles of design in two-dimensional design

The elements of design is “what” the artist uses to achieve a good design.  The principles of design is “how” the artist uses these elements.  The principles or design are unity, balance, rhythm, harmony, emphasis and contrast.

Unity

Unity is described as an effect resulting from individual elements of a whole that are in harmony with each other.  Moreover, all these elements support the overall design and feel like they belong together.  Think of a woman whose makeup, clothing, jewellery, shoes and purse seem like they where made for each other.  That’s unity.
Most people find unity pleasing, because it implies order, a sense of organization and structure.  To achieve it in your art, you need to select elements of design that belong together.

What gives this picture a feeling of unity?  Observe how the light shades of foliages are repeated in the foreground and background.  The shade in the foliage in the foreground is repeated to the right of the image on the tree covered mountain.  And the water in the foreground reflects the colors of the sky and the mountains in the background. Diagonal shapes are found in the mountains and in the layout of the water and the shrubbery. All of these elements work together to create a sense of unity.

Balance

Balance in art is very similar to physical balance.  Both imply a state of equilibrium or poise.  In art, some combinations of lines, shapes and  values are more pleasing are more pleasing than other, because they are balanced.  The rules are simple, you want to keep things balanced. In order to achieve balance, you must consider the weight of the elements you have in your composition.  The darker a value, the more weight it has.  Similarly, the bigger the subject, the more weight it has.  If you put to equal size objects at equal distance from the center of a picture, you have balance.  If you add some weight to one side, you must compensate for the other.  You can either move the the heavier subject closer to the middle or move the lighter object farther from the middle.  Also, you can increase size or value to the lighter object so that both are in a state of equilibrium.
Here are some examples:

This seesaw is perfectly balanced.  The weights on either side have the same shape, the same size, same value and are equal distance from the middle.

This seesaw is also balanced.  The bigger object has been moved in closer to the center.

The differences between these two types of balance are called formal and informal.  Formal balance exists when forms on opposites sides of the center point match in form, weight, and distance from the center.  This type of balance can be horizontal or vertical (see pictures below).

Horizontal formal balance

 

vertical formal balance

Often times, you’ll find that objects that need to be balanced aren’t the same size and weight.  As mentioned above, to get balance in this type of situation, you can increase size of the lighter object or you can change the position of the objects in relation to the center.

These two objects are equal distance from the center, but still in balance because the lighter coloured mass has increased in size.  This is called informal balance.

The lighter coloured mass on the left is four times as large as the right mass, but the two are still balanced because the darker mass has been positioned twice as far from the center.  This is also an example of informal balance.

Rhythm

Rhythm is created by repetition or progression of visual elements, and moves the viewer’s eye in interesting ways.  To achieve this effect, you can create progressions in values (from light to dark), in colors (orange to red), or in sizes (small to large).

Harmony

Harmony can be found in the middle of extremes.  As an example, in a work of art, contrasts are desirable.  But too much will create discord, and not enough will be monotonous.

Emphasis

In a work of art, emphasis refers to the center of interest.  The center of interest can be a color, a  shape, an area, or anything else for that matter.  Also, it doesn’t have to be in the middle of the picture plane, it can be located anywhere.

Contrast

Contrast refers to putting together more than one elements that has different properties.  To achieve contrast, you can use colors or emphasize an elements in the work of art by varying its size, shape, color or texture.

Principles of design in two-dimensional design

Eggs

Eggs

Man who sews…Are you loving it?

They say life is a classroom.  But who is the real teacher?  This guy is!  If you are guy, and you keep on saying you can’t sew, you just got schooled.

Thinking of it, being able to sew a tear or a button should be part of every mans basic skills. Kind of like every guy should be able to figure out the electronics in the home, drive a manual car and a build fire.  Reactions?

Man who sews…Are you loving it?

Your Thing Sucks (website)

Here are some random things that have entertained me today, all from the same author Ryan Abegglen.
First, check out this site, Your Thing Sucks, it’s useless, but I like it.
Second, here is some of his art, and it’s very entertaining art.  He refers to these as “mechanical beasts”.  My favourite one is the house cat.

I love how the Q-Tip has been identified as a it’s only weakness, the hairball repository, and the cheetah blood.

Wow, who knew it could be controlled at a distance and could take up to 6 bullets?

Next time you’re around a donkey, careful, they can hear your thoughts. Yikes. Ridonkulousness!

This weasel will stab you, steal you heart and your wallet, does he have no shame?
Check out more at http://www.ryanabegglen.com/index.html.

Your Thing Sucks (website)

Elements of design in two-dimensional design

I have put together a quick summary of elements of design for those of you curious, but not eager to get down with a 500 page book on two-dimensional design.

The first thing to learn about design is how to see like an artist. We all have a preconceived image of our world that has been created by our experiences.

For example, take a piece paper and a pen and draw an apple right now before reading any further.

Now that you have drawn an apple, what does it look like? Is it perfect? Does it actually look like a real apple? Is it perfectly round, or wider at the top or middle? Is the stem in the middle or is it a bit to the side? Did you maybe forget to draw the small crevice from which the stem pops out of? And what about the bottom?

You most likely drew the symbol of an apple, but in reality it is much more complex. The trick is to look at an object as if it you were seeing it for the first time. Look for ways in which the subject isn’t what you expect.

Lines: Lines do a lot.  They defines edges, define space, create motion and energy or create a sense of volume and weight.  They are straight, curved, diagonal, thick, thin continuous or even broken.

 

Something interesting to keep in mind is that lines also convey idea and sense.  Flat horizontal lines create a sense of stability and restfulness. Vertical lines suggest strength and dignity. Diagonal lines have a feeling of motion, are more dynamic and energized.  Curved line have a softer, more sensual quality.

Shapes: There isn’t much to say about shapes, but there are a couple points to remember.  You can create them with lines, with colors or with tonal values.  And often, we don’t actually see the shape we think we are seeing. 

Often times, we will  draw what makes sense to us, but not what we are actually seeing.  A common mistake happens with cylinders.  Imagine you where to look at one head on.  What would it look like?

It probably would look like the rectangle.  Are you confused?  That’s because your brain is conditioned to see what it wants to see.  When looking at a cylinder head on, you don’t see the top or the bottom.

Color: Since it stimulates the brain and the body, choice of color is always important.  Warm colors create active and exciting responses, while cool colors create passive and calming responses.

Value describes the amount lightness or darkness of a color.  A value halfway between the lightest and darkest values is called a middle value.

Texture: Texture is the feeling or the appearance of a given surface.  It’s an important element of design, but don’t overemphasize it, because it will create a distraction to the viewer and might even misrepresent the surface you are trying to convey.

This assortment of fruits gives you an idea of the variety of different textures an artist deals with.

Pattern: Pattern must not be confounded with texture even though patterns can have textures.  Pattern is the appearance of an organized design on a surface. Be careful, a pattern that is visually dominant will flatten out an image.

Nature has a full array of patterns that inspire us.

Texture and pattern should never override the shape, color, and value of an object.

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Elements of design in two-dimensional design