"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results."--Willie Nelson
Determined to start this Monday on an upbeat note, I will consider the role of positive space with regard to composition.
Let me back up a bit though. Through my study of cubism, I have been thinking a lot about how a sketch or a painting can be pleasing even if it is not representational. I think this is the very thing that drew me to cubism initially. Once an artist has mastered to some degree the ability to represent a subject, it can become unchallenging, and even boring. Of course, there are many ways to expand one's talents. Right now, my focus leans toward Formalism, wherein I am attempting to fine tune my awareness of the Elements of Art (line, shape, color, value, and texture) and the Principles of Design (rhythm, movement, balance, proportion, variety, emphasis, and unity).
It would seem like an almost impossible task to attend to so many items while making a work of art. So, I use my sketchbook to practice each day, sometimes concentrating on certain elements or principles at the start of my drawing, but always analyzing my product with the use of these guidelines
As I look at my sketch from a few days ago, I consider the way cubism impacts positive and negative space.
For some great example of the use of space, click on the image below to open a new window at www.creativebloq.com:
Let me back up a bit though. Through my study of cubism, I have been thinking a lot about how a sketch or a painting can be pleasing even if it is not representational. I think this is the very thing that drew me to cubism initially. Once an artist has mastered to some degree the ability to represent a subject, it can become unchallenging, and even boring. Of course, there are many ways to expand one's talents. Right now, my focus leans toward Formalism, wherein I am attempting to fine tune my awareness of the Elements of Art (line, shape, color, value, and texture) and the Principles of Design (rhythm, movement, balance, proportion, variety, emphasis, and unity).
It would seem like an almost impossible task to attend to so many items while making a work of art. So, I use my sketchbook to practice each day, sometimes concentrating on certain elements or principles at the start of my drawing, but always analyzing my product with the use of these guidelines
As I look at my sketch from a few days ago, I consider the way cubism impacts positive and negative space.
For some great example of the use of space, click on the image below to open a new window at www.creativebloq.com:
The image below was my first real attempt at a cubist composition:
Because it is a mash-up of several perspectives, the drawing seems to eliminate quite a bit of negative space. The dark areas I have colored in were to try to distinguish one figure from another, serving like shadows, and solidifying a few areas to guide the eye around the drawing. The very act of selecting these black areas made me more aware of negative space, and therefore, of course, positive space. Then the addition of color to the piece impacted that awareness even more.
It created a sense of foreground and background, as well as softening the harshness of the drawing. One of the decisions I had to make at this point was whether or not to retrieve the linear quality of the drawing, or to let it become more about color. I chose to put the "harsh" lines back in, because I liked the mood and crispness they moved the piece toward, but not without appreciating the softer effects seen in the intermediate product.
Back to positive and negative space though... Today I am looking at cubism as taking recognizable features (positive space) and rearranging the negative space which separates and connects them, thus reinventing the pictorial space. I will post the results of my sketches later today.
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