TheVirtualInstructor Blog

Creating abstract art is often a misunderstood activity that can often times lead to frustration when realistically minded artists try to create it. Most people unfortunately do not understand what true Abstract art is. Instead, they look only at the technical skill in the application of the material and dismiss the skill that lies in the thinking behind the artwork. You see, abstraction takes on many forms, but all of it includes taking something from reality and changing it in some way.   Some artists change the way we see objects so dramatically that it is hard to know what was abstracted. The skill of abstract art lies in the vision of the artist.   Many people don’t understand that this is largely the goal of abstract art-to encourage new ways of seeing.   Most of the world is programed to evaluate art based on it’s level of realism.   Many artists are programmed in the same fashion.  So when an scholar of realism decides to branch out into the world of abstraction, frustration often follows.   Not because the technical skill is missing, but because the skill of seeing is different and often untrained.
If you are looking to give abstraction a go, but consider yourself a realistic artist, consider taking a closer look at your subject- a lot closer look.  Remember, abstraction is about encouraging new ways of seeing.    One new way of seeing is by “zooming in” to your subjects.   Notice the way the shapes, forms, lines, and colors become simplified and deviate from how we normally view the object. Draw or paint what you see realistically, the result will still translate as abstract.   This is a great exercise to create true abstract art for those of us that are skilled in realism, but are abstractly challenged.
Some artists to take a look at for inspiration include Georgia O’Keefe and Richard Diebenkorn.

The quest to end bad composition in artwork continues with part 3 on the video series on composition.  In this lesson, we take a look at The Golden Mean and how to use it to create more aesthetic  composition.  We also look at The Rule of Thirds, a derivative of the Golden Mean.

What is The Golden Mean?  It sounds pretty important and mysterious, doesn’t it?  However, it is quite interesting, especially when you consider how it can be used to create aesthetic composition.  The Golden Mean refers to a ratio.  This ratio is simplified to 1:.618 .  The Golden Mean is sometimes referred to as The Golden Ratio, as well as the Golden Proportion and the Golden Section.  It has been around quite a while and there is some debate on who actually discovered it.  It is pretty much universally agreed, however, that this proportion or ratio is generally more pleasing to the eye.  Therefore, we as artists should at least understand that it is out there and perhaps open ourselves up to have it at our disposal.

Then how to we use it? Well, one obvious way to use this mysterious ratio is by cropping our artwork to match the proportions.  In other words, make our picture planes length and width reflect the ratio 1:.618.  For example, a canvas may be 28 inches wide and 17.3 inches tall.  I know, that may be a bit strange and impractical.  But we can at least consider that maybe a 28″ x 17″ picture plane may be more successful than one that is 28″ by 22″.  Of course all of this totally depends on other factors as well, such as content.  So, The Golden Mean is in no way a rule, just a suggestion.  There are a couple other ways that the Golden Mean can be used to create aesthetic composition.  These methods are explored in the lesson and video posted at TheVirtualInstructor.com.  The lesson also addresses the relative of the Golden Mean, the more accepted and practiced, Rule of Thirds.  To see the video lesson and to learn more about how to use the Golden Mean to create aesthetic compositions, click here->Composition Part 3- The Golden Mean

Positive and negative space work in unison to affect the overall composition of a work of art.  Understanding how positive and negative space work will greatly improve your ability to create successful pieces of artwork.  The positive space in a work of art is the area of interest.  Usually, the subjects of the artwork are considered to be the positive space.  The negative space is made up of the areas around the subjects, or areas of  non-interest.  Positive space does not refer to “good” space and negative space does not mean “bad” space.  Instead, the artist can manipulate the balance between the positive and negative spaces in an artwork to create emphasis on desired objects or relationships.   An artwork may have a relatively equal amount of positive and negative space.  Or, an artwork may have mostly negative space and still be equally successful in it’s composition.  In the same token, an artwork could be made up mostly of positive space, with limited negative space and be equally successful as well.  To learn more about positive and negative space and to see the video art lesson click here->Positive and Negative Space

Here are a few examples of how the relationship between positive and negative space can be manipulated to create a successful composition…

The above image represents a relative balance between positive and negative space.

The image above represents a composition with mostly negative space.

The image above represents a composition that is mostly positive space.

Eye movement refers to the way a viewer’s eye “moves” through a piece of artwork.  By manipulating the placement of objects, lines, values, shapes, subjects, and so on, we can control the relative path a viewer’s eye may travel.

Movement is one of the principles of art.  The principles of art should not be confused with the elements of art.  The elements of art are the basic components of art.  Line, shape, form, value, color, texture, and space are the elements of art.  Composition mainly deals with the placement of the elements.  Ironically, most of the principles of art deal with composition.  Some of the principles of art include, harmony, unity, balance, proportion, movement, rhythm,  and variety.  In this lesson, we are dealing with eye movement.

One of the ways eye movement can be achieved in an artwork is through the use of geometric configurations.  People, in general, find geometric shapes to be aesthetically pleasing.  By creating geometric configuration to control eye movement in composition, you have greatly increased your chances of being successful.  To learn more about eye movement through geometric configuration in artistic composition, see the video art lesson, and examples of geometric configurations, click here-> Artistic Composition, Eye Movement

Not many people realize that Plato presented philosophies on everything, including art.  Although Plato, himself, was not a visual artist, we stand to learn a bit from him when it comes to composition.  Composition in visual art, to many people, is the hardest part of crafting a successful work of art.  Many artists, especially new ones, tend to view composition as a “trial and error” endeavor.  This is the wrong way to approach composition.  Creating good composition is almost a scientific process, complete with “rules” that will help you be successful.  The first “rule” that we are exploring comes from an unexpected source- Plato.  One of Plato’s students asked of him, “What makes a good composition?”  Plato’s answer was quite interesting.  Plato responded by saying, ” Find the variety within the unity”.  This statement is quite enlightening.  What Plato is saying is that we must have both variety and unity in our artworks, but they must work together. Too much variety leads to a lack of unity.  Too much unity leads to a lack of variety.  So where’s the balance.  That’s where the artist comes in.  To learn more about Plato’s Rule in composition and to see the video demonstration click here-> Composition in Art Part 1- Plato’s Rule