Say it Again...and Again...and Again

Today, let's look at the power of repeating shapes or patterns in art. Some art can be *ALL* about the repeating shapes and take on a graphic quality (think of some of MC Escher's work
or Mondrian's color blocks). outside the world of fine art, think of the practical items that we use with repeating shapes to make our homes and lives more pleasing- symmetrical designs in rugs, patterns in quilts, and repetition of shapes in bolts of fabrics and even our clothing all come to mind.

Think back to earlier this week when we looked at one of Van Gogh's self portraits together. He didn't use an obvious pattern, but used the shape of the triangle many times in the same painting, to make his work more powerful.

Our mini-challenge today is to draw or paint something with repeating shapes that show up as a pattern. You can do something like Escher- with a flat interlocking shape, or simply find something in your world that has the same shape that repeats several times and utilize it in making an interesting composition on your page.

I think it would be great to work from life for this challenge, if you are able, but to illustrate repeating shapes, I am including a few of my photos and art for you to take a look at. Try this out! And let me know what you are working on or thinking about this week as you make art.

The Positives of Negative Space

To continue with our weekly theme of how shapes affect the art we make, today we will look at the importance of negative space in artwork.

For those who might be unfamiliar with the term, "negative space" refers to the area that surrounds the subject in a painting or drawing. It is the area that makes up everything else that supports the positive space (or the subject/object itself).

I chose a painting from the Yorck Project, distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH, which I found in Wikipedia Commons. It is an image that is in the public domain, and it shows a good use of the negative space.

Here is the information on the painting:
Artist: Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel
Title: Zwei Urwahler im Gesprach (Two discussing Voters)
Year: 1849
Medium: Pastel on Paper
18x24 cm
National Gallery of Berlin

I have outlined the shapes around the two men in the upper part of the painting, to show you the way the shapes make an interesting pattern. I did not outline the shapes made inside the boat or benches or in the foreground (the exterior of the boat/benches), but I invite you to take a closer look there to see that there are interesting shapes to be found in those ares of the painting as well. Basically, the artist has broken up the static background with these shapes, and has used the interplay between the negative and positive space to his advantage.



To contrast this, now that you have a better idea about how you can use the negative space to your advantage, let's take a look at a painting by the artist Albrecht Altdorfer:
Title: Sebastiansaltar des Augustiner- Chorherrenstifts St. Florian bei Linz
Year: 1509-1516
Medium: oils
Location: Augustiner- Chorherrenstifts St. Florian bei Linz

This painting is a much earlier work (by almost 350 years), also part of the Yorck Project. The main subject is seated in a gilded throne or chair, with a secondary subject in the background, partially hidden by a pillar.

Althought the negative space makes some interesting space as it goes around the shapes of the figures, throne, and architectural elements, there are too many small shapes and the negative space become chaotic. It makes the overall picture a bit hard to digest.

For your mini challenge today, consider carefully the shapes made in the negative space when you are laying out a sketch in your art journal today. Make the space have a purpose- to support your subject and make the whole drawing or painting more interesting.

Let me see what you come up with, or leave some comments about your experiences or impressions about this or recent topics!

Do it Upside-Down!

OK- Get your mind outta there, 'cause I'm just talking about looking at art differently- upside down and even sideways to get a different view of the shapes that make up your subject.

Of course, the best known person for teaching this technique is Betty Edwards, who discovered this method while teaching one of her drawing classes, and who has written the well-known and excellent book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

In a nutshell, by turning a reference photo or a copy of an old master drawing upside-down, it is easier to replicate it, because we do not draw what we "know." We, instead, actually draw what we see. The example that sticks with me the most is one that she writes about in her book, where new artists tend to draw a bucket with a circle at the top (for the hole) and a flat bottom. This is because they know that the bucket is completely round at the actual opening, and that the bottom sits flat on the ground. They can't yet look at it and take the time to push the logic away, that when viewed from the side and looking down a bit on the bucket, it has an oval opening and a curved line at the base. This is really basic, but it is the beginning of learning to see.

For a complicated picture- a face where I want the likeness to really be close, or for a scene that has a lot of shapes that need to come together in a pretty exacting way, looking at the picture upside down or sideways can help you get something corrected that may look off when you are drawing and just can't figure out what the problem is.

I also use this method to help me figure out what I can bring out and accentuate in a painting. I can see certain things when I look at the scene straight ahead, but if I snap a few pictures for reference, and then use them in my studio to view upside-down or sideways, it helps me look at the scene in a new way.

Below, I will share one of my photos, taken in Laurel Grove Cemetary in Savannah, Georgia. Use it as you wish to interpret for your own art.

Notice how the shapes seem to delineate better, when viewing the photo upside down. Our brains stop trying so hard to understand the picture and can just look at it in terms of shapes, lights and darks- a much easier task to replicate and interpret for our art.

I hope that you will share your work and think about leaving a comment! I just created a yahoo group for this blog, and will soon be uploading the button for a direct link there. It will be easier for you to share your related work.