Balance--one of our important tools when we are painting-- too often is either ignored or skimmed over, but when we build an awareness of its power to give strength to
our work, an entirely new creative freedom becomes available to us.
The beauty of our composing principles is how universal they are in our daily lives. Any of us who has had an inner ear infection has experienced what physical off-balance feels
like. We totally lose our equilibrium!
An unbalanced painting can give us that feeling, too. The balance principle, then, is one that we can use to keep equilibrium in our work, gives
it visual stability.
This painting is a good example of how an unbalanced painting can make us feel.
Visual instability here is caused by the weight leaning to the left, caused by those two major angles that have no
counter-balance.
BUILDING A COUNTER-BALANCE
It takes only a single counter-balancing angle to give it the equilbrium we want to see and feel.
Counter-balancing angles is just one way we can control the visual equilibrium in or paintings and drawings. For the next few Saturday tips,
we're going to examine them all, one by one.
MEANWHILE, TRY THIS OBSERVATION SKILL:
- Once scene at a time, examine the world around you by looking through a rectangular frame. (You can shape a rectangular window with your hands by connecting each of your thumb-tips to your forefinger-tips.)
- Through that window, notice the major angles you see. Are they balanced?
- If they are not balanced, move your frame to one side or the other until you find angles that balance.
May you have a well-balanced weekend!
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