Design and Composition

Two months ago I began a daily practice involving design and composition. It was an assignment for the ArtCloth Mastery program. We were to choose some type of daily practice that would further our art. I decided to focus on design issues, so each day, I have been analyzing composition and design techniques in famous works of art. This week I transitioned to creating a small study each day based on some aspect of design principles. For now, I'm using the assignments in an art design textbook I picked up at Half Price Books.

The first assignment was to create a study that included a black circle, and make the black circle dominant. Then, I was to create another picture, with the same black circle, same size, same place, but make it so that it wasn't dominant. I used my husband's acrylic paints. I was a bit limited on color, because I could only open the red, black and white tubes. Below is the first composition with the black circle dominating.

I'll be honest - I didn't really plan the composition. I just started brushing on paint. Not exactly a masterpiece, but the black circle does dominate.

For the second composition, I created a light glaze by mixing the red paint with gloss medium. I wanted just a sheer layer of color over the black circle. I thought the shine of the glaze would make the circle less dominant. Then I added a black vertical line (using matte medium with the black, so it stands out from the glossy red finish). The glaze over the black circle was too sheer, so I went over it again, but that ended up too thick. It really obscures the black circle - I think that's probably cheating. Good thing it's not for a grade!