Lately I’ve been noticing how many good paintings and drawings use repeating shapes within them, a motif. This motif seems to carry us through the composition, and give harmony and order to the shapes. I recently stumbled across this original drawing by Diego Rivera, posted on Facebook by Paul Hemminger of Bellingham Frameworks. It’s full of repeating angles and shapes. You can see the repetitions in the colored lines I added here:
I’ve emphasized in orange the curve of the worker’s backs, the hats, the hands. The angle of the legs, the tool, the arms, and again the land, all arching at well placed and graceful intervals are grouped, emphasized here in red, green, and blue. Along the orange arches, the green lines fan out a bit, while the red lines stay exactly parallel. The counterbalancing opposite angle in the upper right keeps us in, and loosely mirrors the lines below the left figure. So many repetitions! Lovely piece.
Next time you see a work by a skilled artist, take a look and see how many repetitions you can find within the composition.
Notations A multi-media art show about migration, music, health, and family. Lucy Garnett seeks to understand the themes of migration, music, health, and family by breaking them down and rebuilding them into sculpture, print, painting, and installation. Reception: Saturday Dec 14, 5-8pmOn display: December 14, 2019 – end of March 2020Open: Monday through Friday, 8-5pmShow …
Alan Honick contributed a beautiful photograph of his collection of moon snails. His statement described walks on the beach, and how the number of shells found by his friend decreased and eventually ended in the last fifteen years. The shells were beautiful, arranged in the spiral as they grow… or dwindle. The story was simple, …
For the 26th day of our 30 day January challenge, I focused on memory. The instructions were as follows: Draw what’s in your fridge, from memory Open your refrigerator and look at what’s inside. Close the refrigerator, and draw as much as you can remember. When you can’t remember enough to draw any more, then take another look inside the refrigerator. …
Day 24 of our 30 Day January Challenge was Pathways to the Rectangle. Pathways are directional marks and shapes for our eyes to follow across a drawing or painting. They are a powerful compositional tool to keep the viewer’s eyes engaged and moving around a composition. Connecting these pathways to the edge of the rectangle …
Motif & Repetitions in a Diego Rivera
Lately I’ve been noticing how many good paintings and drawings use repeating shapes within them, a motif. This motif seems to carry us through the composition, and give harmony and order to the shapes. I recently stumbled across this original drawing by Diego Rivera, posted on Facebook by Paul Hemminger of Bellingham Frameworks. It’s full of repeating angles and shapes. You can see the repetitions in the colored lines I added here:
I’ve emphasized in orange the curve of the worker’s backs, the hats, the hands. The angle of the legs, the tool, the arms, and again the land, all arching at well placed and graceful intervals are grouped, emphasized here in red, green, and blue. Along the orange arches, the green lines fan out a bit, while the red lines stay exactly parallel. The counterbalancing opposite angle in the upper right keeps us in, and loosely mirrors the lines below the left figure. So many repetitions! Lovely piece.
Next time you see a work by a skilled artist, take a look and see how many repetitions you can find within the composition.
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Lucy Garnett’s “Notations”
Notations A multi-media art show about migration, music, health, and family. Lucy Garnett seeks to understand the themes of migration, music, health, and family by breaking them down and rebuilding them into sculpture, print, painting, and installation. Reception: Saturday Dec 14, 5-8pmOn display: December 14, 2019 – end of March 2020Open: Monday through Friday, 8-5pmShow …
Salish Sea Art Show Favorites
Alan Honick contributed a beautiful photograph of his collection of moon snails. His statement described walks on the beach, and how the number of shells found by his friend decreased and eventually ended in the last fifteen years. The shells were beautiful, arranged in the spiral as they grow… or dwindle. The story was simple, …
30SAL Faves: What’s in your Fridge?
For the 26th day of our 30 day January challenge, I focused on memory. The instructions were as follows: Draw what’s in your fridge, from memory Open your refrigerator and look at what’s inside. Close the refrigerator, and draw as much as you can remember. When you can’t remember enough to draw any more, then take another look inside the refrigerator. …
30SAL Faves: Pathways to the Rectangle
Day 24 of our 30 Day January Challenge was Pathways to the Rectangle. Pathways are directional marks and shapes for our eyes to follow across a drawing or painting. They are a powerful compositional tool to keep the viewer’s eyes engaged and moving around a composition. Connecting these pathways to the edge of the rectangle …