"Balancing Details"

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"Balancing details is an art." If there are too many details in life or in art, there is overload. However, if there are no details in life or in art, there is boredom and very little substance. It's a delicate balance.

As you can plainly see, I have been experimenting with design and collage. And details are very important when creating a collage. The most important thing to realize is that the eye is constantly looking for connections. And if the connections don't make sense, the viewer is unable to stay engaged in your art.

It is also possible to have a lot of detail, but not enough contrast, and then the viewer cannot distinguish any connections and there is no place for the eye to rest. The secret is to keep significant sections free of detail so that the viewer's eye goes right to the focal point or even several areas that have strong enough connections to be focal points.

And the beauty of collage is that you can completely gesso over a particular section and replace the collage piece with something more convincing. I did that very thing yesterday on a large piece that had too many jolts of color. So I eliminated one color altogether and substituted another to change the mood of the piece.

In the posting today. there is ample white or very light lavendar sections that have little or no detail. And the placement of the red pieces provides a very loose frame around the one piece of detail. In conclusion, the attention to how much or how little detail is a very important design decision. And it's quite okay to have very intense color combinations with some detail as long as there are significant sections of white or very little color and also some punches of very dark color. Within this framework, you can have a very successful collage. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Skill"

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"Focus and practice equal skill." Another one of my favorite quotes is..."Wishing will not make it so". Only focus and practice will get the job done!

We have all learned that placing the focal point in the middle of the piece is never a good idea unless it is a vignette. The way the pouring medium flowed and the way the piece was cropped made all of the directional lines of the moving color go right to the center. Placing the focal point anywhere else would have been akin to moving the eye of the hurricane to the periphery. (no pun intended!) It would never work because the force of the "pull" of the lines is too great. So in this case...if you can't "lick"'em"....join them.

I hope you can imagine what that central image would have looked like if it were not transparent. It is so much more effective to use transparency whenever possible because it totally marries that image to the background. The viewer is still able to see quite clearly the total movement of the color.

Another reason this works harkens back to the traditional layout of many documents where there is a heading or seal and the lettering right below. Even the dark shape at the bottom acts as a border and conclusion to the piece. And there you have it....just a few more things to think about.

"Stability"

($60.00......6" x 6".....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)


"Stability is the capacity to set your mind on that which is immovable and unchanging." This quote is an obvious reference to God. We all realize that life can sometimes feel like shifting sand beneath us, but there is a power higher than us who is immovable and unchanging. The white lettering is the Spanish translation of Philippians 1:6.

Creating a focal point in a piece can often seem like a difficult task especially in a piece with strong color in the first layer. To be honest, the first layer could have been the end of the piece and simply been categorized as a contemporary piece of artwork. However, most people desire to have a bit more complexity without going into visual overload.

By selecting an image with some intricate ironwork printed in black on transparent tissue paper (gampi), I immediately created a focal point. The transparency completely integrates it into the piece. This bit of collage also became the nucleus for the placement of the lettering with some of the tiny white lettering overlapping the image. And finally, the black letting is a nice stabilizing factor to all of the moving diagonal bands of color.

Just as a rule of thumb....the following things describe a focal point which should help in creating one. First of all, it is an area of the piece that contains more detail than any other area. It also contains the lightest light and darkest dark. Third, it contains the most vivid pure color compared to the surrounding areas. It can also contain more texture...whether simulated or real. Last, it contains more line work that leads the viewer's eye to the focal point.

These are only guidelines, but it really does help to think these things through when creating your masterpiece. Just a few more things to think about.


Contact me personally to inquire about this piece.