Form

Form. Unlike background, color and many other art theories/principles, it is pretty cut and dry. Form is what defines shape while occupying space at the same time. Shape can be 2-D (two dimensional) but not necessarily 3-D. One example I always think of is a Halloween episode of the Simpsons where Homer is sucked into a 3-D world changing his 2-D shape and taking 3-D form. Kinda silly, I know. But, it helped me think about form a long time ago. So, when considering form, it is imperative to recognize how shape takes up space. Form can be interesting in itself, but, it can also be interesting to look at the shape around the piece that isn't part of it. This is called 'negative space'. This occurs in both 2-D and 3-D works. Whether it is intentional or not, that doesn't matter. The size of the form can have adverse effects on the viewer. One example is a monumental sized door versus a normal sized one. Through out history many sculptors created some sort of intimidating or overwhelming gateway into a place. Think of the Statue of Liberty: a huge woman representing freedom and welcome to the land of liberty. The only exception to the life sized piece is when one is your height and seems to be looking for a fight (these are also known as mannequins). On the opposite end of the spectrum are smaller-life sized pieces. These could be idols for people to carry around or other items that are don't intimidate the viewers. They could convey a constricted feeling or a sense of belittlement.
Here are a couple examples of form. One is a picture I found online(I do not own the rights to it). The other is a functional sculpture I did for school (it's a zombie gnome with a candle inside). Enjoy!

Background: A Tricky Composition

So, it's been a while. I have been slacking, not that anyone reads this anyway. But, for those that care, I will briefly discuss backgrounds.
Backgrounds can either help contribute to the composition or take away from it. The question is: What makes an effective background? An effective background (that isn't meant to lead the eye by orthogonal lines or have a usage with the focal point) should be relatively tame. That isn't exactly the artsy word for my thought, but, it should be a lot of things so that is the best way I could describe it. The picture I have included in this post was an experiment I did in an art class a couple years ago entitled "Excuse Me" (oils) that was featured in an art show. The idea I had was to use a potentially threatening background design to compliment the over-all composition of the piece. The design was an overhead view of city skyscrapers at night. The only reason it works is due to the color. Color is probably the most important move when creating an effective background layer. The colors I chose for this were taken from the palette that had the paint from the foreground and the objects in it. Though I used the same paints, they weren't nearly the same. These colors have been tinted, muted and are shaded variants of the original colors used. That means they flow with the rest of the piece but don't blend in.
One way to understand the color theory of backgrounds more easily is to look at the horizon line in mid-day. The sky directly over head is the most saturated blue, but, in contrast the horizon lines are much more desaturated. I won't delve into the science of it (mainly because I don't understand it completely, so I don't want to look like an idiot). Distance can be shown by the saturation of the background. With landscapes you can glaze a some cool light colors that seem to really push the distance. This theory comes from the vs. black idea. In a lot of cases black comes forward in a piece whereas white tends to fall back into the composition. Again,this is due to saturation. White is the absence of chroma/color and black (when dealing with pigment) is full saturation. Finding the right amount of saturation with the right colors is a whole other novel. So, along with sharpness, lack of detail and usage, consider the color itself. There have been many times when the background color has caused hours of pondering, but, hopefully this makes it a little easier for you.

Lazy Bee Kyle

So, honestly I have been super busy. School has been really intense. I was taking four studio classes (watercolor, oil, drawing/composition and 2-D design). But, it is all over! Along the way I did whip out some fun stuff i could create some decent posts. So, lets get started!

Traditional vs. Not -so-traditional

1. What is art? Is it something divine? Something perfect? Something hand-made? Well, pretty much to answer that question; I don't really know. But, here's what I have come up with (in my opinion):
-Paintings/drawings/sculptures/photos
-Designs/architecture
-Music/Cinematography
2. Is there a right or wrong way in art? Honestly, it depends on who you ask. If you ask a 5 year old they might just say something like "you have to color in the lines". However, if you ask a college professor, that person might say with conviction that there most certainly is! Now ask yourself. What do you think?
In order to help you make an informed decision/opinion, please allow me to throw out some neutral points for consideration.
-"Art" has some definition in all cultures
-"Art" has many different forms/mediums
-"Art" does not have a Bible or 10 commandments (no official, universal, or intergalactic handbook exists)
-What makes something radical? Extreme? Inappropriate? And does human history/religious bias have anything to do with it?
-What makes something pleasing to the human eye? Symmetry? Color? Balance? Rhythm? Movement? Pattern? Line? Shape? Texture? Form?
Now, having considered these points one can begin to critique art.
I've been doing watercolor for a little under a decade now, and I have to say that I prefer the not-so-traditional look. I don't know what it is, but I don't like the washy look of "traditional" watercolor. i can't help but focus on the washiness of the piece instead of the composition. So, I kind of took the harder road. I can't help but enjoy detail and more of a fullness in paintings. So, that's what I taught myself to do in watercolor and all other mediums.
Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that there is only one "right way" to doing any art.
This picture was done for a good friend of mine not too long ago. I call it "Arizona Night". It was done in request by him (Tyler) because it is originally a photo he took but i added a couple pieces of "flair"... Oh, and it's watercolor...

Inspiration and a Little Art History Lesson

Inspiration comes from a variety of sources. For many artists it can be human beauty found in a special someone (or for Van Gogh, a prostitute... tell ya later). Love is huge and powerful. Masterpieces have been created because of twitterpated individuals. But, it is also very broad. It can flood the senses and cloud the mind. And heartbreak... well... in my opinon, has been behind many fantastic moving pieces involving chiaroscurro (the use of mostly dark and some light) and expressionism. nature inspired cave art from neandrothals and others since. Music and bodily senses are other huge sources of inspiration. And throughout history, religion/diety has been the patron and almost forced the inspiration. The earliest amoung the religious art could be the Neolithic period (neo = new, and lithic = stone; around 4,000 years before common era) They created temples out of large pieces of cut stone and later during the Cycladic period the famous Stonehenge was created. The Roman Catholic Empire adopted Christianity, by way of Constantine, which later led to a lot of patronage for tons of famous architecture, sculptures and frescos. I am very grateful for these remaining works. They have inspired musicians over the centuries and other artists. I say this because i have got my inspiration from other artists' work and music. I also have been motivated and driven by love, religion and nature.
And so the cycle continues. Inspiration and creation. So, like the famous chicken and the egg question; Which came first? Inspiration or creation? If you can figure this out you probably know how history itself began. (feel free to let me in on that mystery!) I would also like to pose this question; What inspires you?
This piece is an oil painting on gallery wrapped canvas that I did last spring. I feel it needed to be posted for this blog especially. Notice the colors are complementary hot and colds. The rust slowly taking over the walls and darkness creeping to meet it. Notice the blank look on the figure, who, in this case, is a robot. The heart seems to be waiting yet lifeless. I don't really have a title for this work but, I enjoy hearing what people think of it and their thoughts on my inspiration in creating it...

Creativity and Color

So, in this post I am focusing on the interesting characteristics of color. The color wheel is a good thing to utilize and memorize. Lots of trial and error make near perfect color mixing results. Add a little creativity and WHAMMY! You got art! Well, there are lots of other rules to also consider, but you get the point!
This is a finger-painting I did on Valentines Day night 2009, hanging out with other single friends. Lots of us were having a good time just simply doing heart shapes on cards. If you notice, the colors aren't verasim (true). Instead the colors are inverted. So, in other words, if you were to take a film-photo of it and look at the negative it would be a red rose with a green stem on a white background. Ta-da!

HELLO and WELCOME

Hello! I am Kyle McDonald. I grew up in Mesa AZ. I love art. I have been working with pretty much all mediums my whole life. So, this is the first step of many to getting my work out and running. I hope to be helpful to artists of all skill levels with art theory, critiques and techniques. I also plan to sell work too. Enjoy!