Join us tomorrow, June 21, at 2 PM Eastern, for my monthly YouTube chat. The topic: Keys to Painting Nocturnes.
NOW TO TODAY’S SATURDAY MORNING ART THOUGHTS…
For ages, the triangle has been one of the most powerful symbols in religions, mythologies, alchemies, psychologies, and the list goes on. In visual art, it is more than a symbol; it is composed of directional movements that provide balance, dynamism, and unity to any artwork. It is used at every level of expression, from light-hearted illustration to deeply serious work.
From before Rembrandt to after Norman Rockwell, today's art collections are filled with paintings whose compositional structure is some variation of three connected diagonal directional movements.
It all goes back to nature, to our psychology and the physics of our bodies. When we are in a horizontal position, we are at rest; in a vertical position, we are anchored to the surface on which we are standing, but in a diagonal position without any support, we’re most likely falling. On the other hand, three of those diagonals connected at their ends give a support so strong that constructions of all kinds depend upon them.
Once again, we see how the principles of composition are live forces rather than baggage to be dealt with or ignored.