Blog
Balance
In composition as in life balance is the key.
At times I enjoy working with informal balance and push the composition to the edge of chaos. I would be hard pressed to explain how these compositions work. Suffice it to say, I rely on the elements and principles of design to keep me out of trouble.
In most of my work I prefer to use formal balance, using symmetry and classical proportions. However I am always careful to tweak the composition a bit to avoid it becoming too balanced.. to find the subtleties of balance is a challenging process, but very satisfying.
I feel drawn again lately to the calm and security of formal balance. Here is the grisaille under painting for Sub Rosa. The two coyote skulls are balanced, but I do not want them to be identical, so one has open jaw, the other is closed. It is amazing how this subtle difference in the forms throws the composition off balance, I plan to use the weight of the shadows and reflections to tip the scale back into balance.
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I am painting in a square format lately, out of curiosity and a desire to stir things up a bit. I am working on the Still Life Lexicon, and the square format seems to marry well with the alphabet blocks that the series is built upon. Since the advent of the web, the ubiquitous square seems to be everywhere as a utilitarian icon, in avatars and web design. I have noticed that the six inch square is the de rigueur format with the Daily Painting projects. I am curious as to why this format is chosen so often and what it might imply. I suspect that the abstract quality the square generates is a plus when turning out a painting each day, it helps to keep creativity flowing. The square, symmetrical and equal sided, relies on graphic statement, abstraction and cropping to create visual tension and interest. http://pmkelly.fineartstudioonline.com/blog Because of it's design neutrality Josef Albers used the square to explore interaction of color in his series Homage to the Square. How accurate is your color sense? In this online test you can arrange color squares according to hue, and find out how you score: http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77&Lang=en |
