Why circle and square? There is really no good reason, except that these are simple, classic shapes beloved by mathematicians, artists, and children. The circle appears everywhere: in the sky, as the face of the sun and moon; in children’s drawings as a primitive shape to which eyes, mouth, nose, ears, arms and legs are later added; in philosophy and Greek science, as the perfect form; in mathematics, as one of the principal shapes treated in Euclid’s elements; in art, as an element of composition; in music, as the circle of fifths governing harmonic movement. A good starting point for a blog whose purpose is at yet undefined. (This is an experiment).
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All posts for the day June 21st, 2009
Exercise 2
A simple art project, after Delaunay: draw lines and curves to cut the canvas into shapes. Paint the shapes. Step back from time to time to get a feel for balance. Distribute colors across the canvas Use some color variation, e.g. green and yellow-green. I learned this exercise in Marlena Bocian’s abstract painting class in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The color difference exercises 1 & 2 is not so great; it is the lighting that is different. I think I like the composition of exercise 1 better, though i’ve been thinking that I need to “kill the white,” either by bringing one color all they way to the other or by painting in black, as if it were a stained glass window. Hmmm…. what do do?
Comments to self: (1) How about just getting the brushes and paint out and doing something new? This is 2011! (2) I think exercise 1 is better than exercise 2: more interesting pattern of shapes an colors.
Exercise 1
Circle and Square 