Composition: Week Two

Composition

Definition

A composition is the arrangement of visual elements in a picture. It can be things like the angle of the point of view in a figurative picture or it can be more abstract elements like the placement of light and dark areas or the placement and angle of lines which can keep your attention focused on the page (or canvas) or lead your eye straight off in some direction if badly done.

Composition is the hardest part of creating a painting. A boring composition can break an exciting piece of art while an exciting composition can carry even the most boring works of art. When I work abstractly, I struggle with coming up with creative compositions every time I put my brush to the canvas. What I do instead of creating brand new compositions is that I look for compositions in existing imagery or pictures I have taken myself and deconstruct it to achieve the composition I want. I do this usually by squinting at the image and looking for just the light and dark values. Separating the positive and negative space from an image is also key. Design rules apply, of course, and I must be conscious of not placing things smack dab in the center of the canvas. It's also important to create depth and space in my abstract pieces.


Sometimes, the music I listen to when I paint can determine the outcome of the composition, as well as the brush strokes, color choices, speed at which I paint, etc... I will often paint to the beat and syncopation.


Here is an example of a song that could affect the composition of my work:

Here are some of the types of images I look for when deconstructing compositions:

Cave Landscapes (Rock, Crystal & Ice)

I find caves to be dynamic and full of great lines. The jagged stalactites and stalagmites create anxiety and uneasy feelings. This is a major component in a lot of my abstract paintings.

Micro Photography

I draw from the compositions in these photographs regularly.
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/micro/gallery.html
Zoomed-in photography of items like sugars, minerals, proteins, etc.. as seen under a microscope have truly amazing compositions (and colors). Here are a few found around the web...

Pattern: Week One

Pattern

Definition

Pattern is the repetition of an element (or elements) in a work.

An artist achieves pattern through the use of color, lines or shapes.

I love it when I create accidental patterns in my work. It's not conscious but it's a happy, serendipitous occurrence that I will run with once it happens.


Here are some patterns that I could use in my work somehow - or maybe steal borrow its color schemes at the very least:

Southwest

Native patterns are really popular right now - which makes me almost not want to like this because I see it everywhere. Nothing can kill a good thing like ubiquity. However, I have always had a strong affinity toward the Southwest region of the US and love the geometry in Native American patterns. It brings back fond memories of an extended road trip when I was 9 years old through the California desert, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma – roaming the gift shops looking for all things turquoise and silver. My abstract work can be semi-autobiographical, so it's important to me put down things that I like or that is of significance to me. I can be transported there again any time I put on a Gram Parsons record or anything 'hair country', have tequila with lime in the summer sun, or look at these types of patterns.

Quilts

There are a lot of really neat patterns and colors in quilting that I could appropriate into my work. It's amazing to me how people are able to create such intricate designs through needle and thread.