"Move Over" Harmonic Proportions/Armatures

After starting “Move Over” I learned of an artist technique referred to as Harmonic Proportions. In simple terms it is the placement of art subjects in an art composition at areas where the art viewer's natural vision rest. Artist blog of Alan Douglas Ray gives a more indepth discussion of this artist technique. I was a little surprised as to where the intersecting interest points of the viewer eye came together after having already begun this artwork.

By dividing the artist canvas from eight locations and then connecting them with pencil lines I found the highway sign I had drawn to be located where four points rest. The top right portion of the composition I find is complete and adding more art subjects in this area would cause this location to be too busy. There's no other interest points and the steel framing of the sign structure will create much interest for the art viewer.

One of the intersecting points rest at the center. I was surprised to see that the police vehicle's front portion that I penciled outlined was located at this point. As the painting is brushed in I will create contrast here enhancing this area at this point.

All the flower art subjects are located from the left side to right side and work their way to the bottom middle of the canvas. Colors of these flowers that are around each intersecting point and where they converge will be painted to standout. Artist Arleta Pech shares informative art information on this in her article about Harmonic Armatures.

Daisies Grid Drawing Puzzle

Got a pencil and like doing puzzles? An artist grid drawing puzzle is an artist tool use that helps in learning to draw. Grid puzzles let us see negative space, distance, shapes and a whole host of other arty things. After sometime with practice you can find yourself seeing art subjects in a whole different way. Drawing puzzles enable the basic art form or foundation of an artwork to be drawn with more accuracy. This then helps in making the end artwork appear as a more realistic artwork. A funny thing is that drawing puzzles lets one draw something and yet not know what it is that is being drawn. It blocks out the logical mind and opens up the creative mind of a visual artist.

The Daisies Grid Drawing Puzzle contains one hundred and six drawing pieces. In the online web version each drawing piece can be viewed by clicking on the labeled square. If you need a blank grid pattern to draw to you can download one by clicking this here Download Blank PDF File Grid Drawing Sheet.

Start drawing from the top line and work left to right until you have completed each line. If you start at the middle or bounce around to different labeled squares you may find your completed artwork to be a harsh and jagged picture. Drawing this way creates a smoother flowing drawing without having to return with an eraser to cleanup different areas.

If your an art teacher you may be interested in a slideshow version of the Daisies Grid Drawing Puzzle. From an image projecting system it can be shown as a Power Point presentation to a class of art students.

Bear in the Blueberry Bush

Bad. Really doesn't look good. Yep it's down right ugly but it does what I need it to do. It tells me where the sky, background mountains and foreground areas will be. What it is, is the underpainting. By painting this way I've learned to make an art composition complete. It helps me not to hit any bumps in the road and get stuck.

I like to let my paintings dry a few days which gives me time to think about maybe adjusting the focal point. Viewing the painting as is I like the brightness just above the bears head in the sky area. Lighter hues in the background mountains and darker hues in foreground areas helps to bring a sense of distance into the painting. The bears head and blueberries appear to standout in the composition. I think it's now ready for some detailed brushing for a second round of painting.