There are two parts in composing a painting. One is Design Unity, the structure of the pictorial elements as a whole. The second is Visual Unity, the flow and energy expressed through the movement, balance, proportion, and rhythm of the pictorial elements. The first attracts attention. The second keeps our attention and determines how we read and interpret a painting. During the painting process, both Design and Visual Unity are performed at the same time. However, to understand them, to teach them, and to compose a painting, they are thought of separately. Visual Unity is the expression that the painting imparts. It is how the parts are visually orchestrated that keep our attention and give us the meaning. ~ Excerpted From The Language of Energy in Art: Finding Your Vision charlottewhartonstudio/Language/book.htm Waiting For Her Mother, 36” x 24”, oil The young girl’s pout is the inspiration for this portrait. The repetition of descending diagonals seen in the flowers, the dress, and the stairs, support the attitude of her adorable little pout. Descending diagonals can represent a depressive state, but not here. The bright yellow Munsell color palette and the uplifting vertical of the drape suggest an optimistic attitude will soon occur. The hard edges at the back of her head, on the bottom step by the drape, and along the left side of her dress, not only attract attention and stop movement, but they form a triangle within the painting. Triangles have strong energy, as do diagonals. In this case, both add to her momentary state of mind and resistance to smile. Waiting For Her Mother, 36” x 24”, oil, (REVERSED) When viewed backwards, as in a mirror, the painting is seen as an ascending diagonal. Her little pout seems to all but disappear as well as the overall essence of the painting. NOTE: Viewing art backwards in a mirror is a good method of checking for accuracy of proportion, but changes the reading of a painting’s expression. The change in the expression of the painting is a good indication that the artist has, in fact, expressed himself in the painting. © Charlotte Wharton, author, The Language of Energy in Art: Finding Your Vision charlottewhartonstudio/Language/book.htm
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 12:27:46 +0000
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