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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