“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas The background of a painting creates the atmosphere for the entire artwork. The success of the subject matter comes to life as the viewer steps into the background, becomes engaged, and is guided to the point of focus. A close up of a flower, a bowl of fruit, a mountain cabin on a Continue Reading
How the Middle Ground Creates Harmony
“It is the brushwork of the right value and color which should produce the drawing.” —Camille Pissarro Space, as defined in art, relates to the relationship of the elements in your composition to each other. A typical layout will include these three spaces: Background Middle Ground Foreground In most painting compositions the foreground Continue Reading
To Plant a Garden is To Believe in Tomorrow
“Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul.” – Luther Burbank Spring is a little over a month away. We’ve all experienced a challenging year avoiding exposure to the coronavirus and most of us are finding new ways to stay emotionally balanced. So many of us have adopted the stay close-to-home requests Continue Reading
Introduction: Basic Design Element Series
Design: The logical selection and arrangement of visual elements for order and interest. Everything our eyes rest upon can be described as a design. For example, the veins in a leaf, the lines on a hand, or billowing clouds. Even when we doodle or scribble, we can call these marks we make with our tools—pencils, sticks, fingers—designs! It’s quite Continue Reading