Greetings!
Visual levers operate by a law of attraction that acts like gravity. They are our tools for achieving balance or equipoise in our art work.
Try this:
- On a sheet of blank paper, draw two 2-inch squares side by side with a little space between them.
- With a pencil, shade one of them so that it is solid, darkish gray throughout.
- Then, make a black round dot about the size of a pea in the middle of both squares.
- Look away from your work for a few seconds, then look back at the two squares. To which dot in which square does your eye gravitate?
Two things are happening here: the visual levers of isolation and of contrast are at work. The eye will gravitate towards anything in isolation and anything that is in contrast. Both black dots are in isolation, but the greater contrast of the one located in white causes the greater gravitational pull. The stronger the contrast, the more the gravitation pull or attraction to the eye.
These are two of several visual levers available to us for balancing our paintings. Look at these images from one of my watercolor paintings, Double Dare:
 |
|
"Double Dare" Watercolor on Paper 2013
|
In the image on the left, the two birds are each isolated, therefore each is itself a strong visual lever. And additional weight is caused by contrasting color intensity of the top bird. The two being lined one above the other also creates a strong visual weight, all on the right side of the painting. These three actions at work are causing the painting to be off-balance, too heavy on the right side, lacking poise.
In the image on the left, they are balanced by a third isolated bird, contrasting in color instensity and looking in the direction of the other two. All three actions add enough weight to give equipoise to the painting. By having the third bird looking in the direction of the other two, the eye is guided around the entire painting.
Try using these three visual levers in a painting and send to our Facebook group forum explained below. It would be fun and interesting to see what kinds of solutions you can come up with.
Happy painting,
Dianne
P.S. Isolation means to be set apart or to be alone by location or by being different.
ANNOUNCEMENT: A number of you have indicated you'd like a discussion forum, so I have set up for us a closed
Facebook Group HERE. I won't be adding any names to it myself, so if you want to join the forum, go to the page and click on Join Group. Membership in the group is entirely optional. You will continue to receive the weekly Tips by email whether or not you participate in the forum.
