Look at the three images below one at a time, then answer mentally which of the three feels most confusing. Don't hesitate, just give a spontaneous answer. Look at them again and answer which one feels the least confusing.
One is anything goes. Another has some order, unity and harmony, even though it has no recognizable image. The third one is a tweaked photo from nature. None of them are ruled by rules: one totally disregards any principles of composition, the other two use the principles, but are not ruled by them.
Among all creators, artists are most adamant demanding freedom to express themselves without hindrances. Walk into many college visual arts buildings today and the first thing that hits you in the eyes is freedom from restriction. But, too often this insistence on freedom comes at the expense of vagueness, chaos and inaccessibility. If the viewer feels vacuous or confused looking at a work, something important is missing.
Being a free spirit doesn't necessitate totally rejecting any order or unity or harmony. To create freely, one needs substance with which to create. Historically, our most creative writers, visual artists, composers, performers of all sorts have in common adroit craftsmanship, knowledge of construction principles and a free spirit.
TIP: We visual artists have at our command compositional principles that hold within them the potential for us to use them creatively. We are NOT to deem them rules to be bound to, but as tools to be put to use to make our creations do what we want them to do. Another way to say this is this: We will never be ruled or held captive by a rule if it's not a rule in the first place.
Happy painting,
Dianne
___ We are in our third week of SERIES 5: CREATING AERIAL PERSPECTIVE. The lessons in this series demonstrate four ways we can create with aerial perspective. Lesson Three, Using Aerial Perspective Creatively, now in the eStore, explores an aerial perspective principle's ability to interpret a scene with imagination.
___ This week's YouTube Quick Tip gives you a simple method for setting up a preliminary landscape drawing for painting. If you'd like me to do a video Quick Tip on anything related to painting or composing, email your request HERE. ___On August 21 & 22, I'll be giving a "Magic of Tertiaries" workshop at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville, Georgia, USA. Go HERE for details.
One word to Forum users--To keep up with what's going on daily, click on the forum title--Composing and Drawing Tips--in your Groups list on the left of your Facebook page.
___Those of you doing the video lessons can get a personal critique on your work by going to my website and sending me a message from there.
