• Special message: We have three spaces left for our online workshop February 22. This one really gets a handle on negative space and has a few things you might not expect. How do we see visual movement? After all, nothing is moving physically on the canvas! PAINTERS FEED THE EYES LIKE MUSICIANS FEED THE EARS As musical notes move along in time, we're accustomed to following their melody with our ears. We recognize that a single tune gets more interesting when other notes are added to it, and even more so with different instruments. And moving that all along are the rhythm and cadence. Paintings have a movement, too, caused by how our eyes follow the placement of contrasts in a painting. The stronger the contrasts, the more the eyes are attracted to them. Contrasting elements that attract the eye are value contrasts and color contrasts. Shape, direction, size, and texture
contrasts need value or color contrasts for us to see them. NOTICE HOW YOUR EYE MOVES Below are two identical placements of identical shapes within identical visual spaces. Even though their shapes and colors are the same, the kinds of value contrasts within the positive shapes are switched around. That gives them a different kind or visual movement. Notice how your eye moves
differently between the two. Try spending a day noticing how value contrasts attract your eyes and cause them to move from a stronger contrast to stronger contrast, while at the same time, gliding through those contrasts of lesser degree. Notice how the degree of contrast determines where your eyes go next. Enjoy a delightful weekend of visual discovery! During my Language of Painting series, I explained the role of our visual elements. If you'd like to review those roles to better understand the behavior of elements, here are the links to each of those
discussions: Color --Value -- Shape -- Texture -- Size -- Line and Direction
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