Chris Harvey’s notan study in preparation for his painting 6th Floor Vancouver Library
Popularized in Sir Arthur Wesley Dow‘s book on Composition (1899), Notan is a Japanese design concept based on simplified light and dark shapes. The idea is that composition is based on value, and by waiting to introduce the distractions and complications of color and detail, an artist can work with clarified light/dark shapes to refine the underlying balance in a composition. Below are examples of notan by Sir Arthur Wesley Dow.
Create a light/dark study of a scene or abstract design. Consider composition. Fill the paper, and the space around objects. Decide what goes light and what goes dark. Feel free to change what goes light and what goes dark to improve the composition. Avoid getting distracted by line and shading, avoid sneaking in an extra tone. This is about light/dark shapes only. Materials are artists’ choice.
Thankyou for sharingyourwork! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter where you post, tag us so we can find it. #seattleartistleague #salchallenge #notan
The June SAL Challenge: Creative exercises once a day for 30 days.
Kiki MacInnis is a painter who lives and works in Seattle. In her current practice she focuses on drawing with brush and ink on paper. She draws large drift trees and roots on site at the beach, and brings smaller matter like seaweed holdfasts, barnacles and shells back to her studio. Each time she returns to the …
I used to think drawing was something I had to learn so that I could to get to painting. Lately I’ve grown to enjoy drawing for its own expressive abilities. Drawing is a spontaneous and immediate art. It is a direct record of the movement of the artist’s hand, a record of movement in time. …
Pouncing is a technique used for transferring an image from one surface to another. It is similar to tracing, and is useful for creating copies of a sketch outline to produce finished works.
Dred Scott Dred Scott first went to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847. Ten years later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals, his case was finally brought before the United States Supreme Court. In what is perhaps the most infamous case in its history, the court decided that all people of …
SAL Challenge: Notan
[image_with_animation image_url=”9927″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
Chris Harvey’s notan study in preparation for his painting 6th Floor Vancouver Library
Popularized in Sir Arthur Wesley Dow‘s book on Composition (1899), Notan is a Japanese design concept based on simplified light and dark shapes. The idea is that composition is based on value, and by waiting to introduce the distractions and complications of color and detail, an artist can work with clarified light/dark shapes to refine the underlying balance in a composition. Below are examples of notan by Sir Arthur Wesley Dow.
[image_with_animation image_url=”9928″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
Create a light/dark study of a scene or abstract design. Consider composition. Fill the paper, and the space around objects. Decide what goes light and what goes dark. Feel free to change what goes light and what goes dark to improve the composition. Avoid getting distracted by line and shading, avoid sneaking in an extra tone. This is about light/dark shapes only. Materials are artists’ choice.
Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter where you post, tag us so we can find it. #seattleartistleague #salchallenge #notan
The June SAL Challenge: Creative exercises once a day for 30 days.
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Kiki MacInnis
Kiki MacInnis is a painter who lives and works in Seattle. In her current practice she focuses on drawing with brush and ink on paper. She draws large drift trees and roots on site at the beach, and brings smaller matter like seaweed holdfasts, barnacles and shells back to her studio. Each time she returns to the …
Gregory Muenzen
I used to think drawing was something I had to learn so that I could to get to painting. Lately I’ve grown to enjoy drawing for its own expressive abilities. Drawing is a spontaneous and immediate art. It is a direct record of the movement of the artist’s hand, a record of movement in time. …
Pouncing
Pouncing is a technique used for transferring an image from one surface to another. It is similar to tracing, and is useful for creating copies of a sketch outline to produce finished works.
Dread Scott vs Dred Scott
Dred Scott Dred Scott first went to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847. Ten years later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals, his case was finally brought before the United States Supreme Court. In what is perhaps the most infamous case in its history, the court decided that all people of …