Last week I presented to you the concept of tangents and how they can sneak up on us and cause discomforting things to happen in our paintings. As any
conscientious teacher does, I advised avoiding them. But then, there's the student in me that, when I was taught that, asked "How could I actually include a tangent and make it work?"
This kind of question is one excellent reason why knowing composing principles can pay off big time. As
I pointed out last week, Norman Rockwell was a master composer. At times, he would take a composing "no-no" and convert it into a triumphant "yes."
HOW ROCKWELL OUTSMARTED THE TANGENT
Look what Rockwell did in The Art Critic
Not only did he use a tangent, but he placed it smack dab in the middle of the canvas,
another no-no, we've been told.
How did he make that work?
For one thing, he placed a diagonal and counter-diagonal across the center. The fellow leaning towards the portrait on the left pulls visual weight in that direction--away from the center (which also is the visual
axis).
And he arranged the sizes and value contrasts so that they evenly balance the visual weight on either
side, pulling our attention away from the intentional tangent.
Oh, by the way: Leonardo da Vinci placed his center of interest right in the middle of The Last
Supper. There goes another no-no!
ENJOY A LOVELY WEEKEND! (A little creative mischief
probably wouldn't hurt!)
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