Art 107: Portfolio 3

The three concepts in this portfolio are a bit different than the other principles we studied, each unique ways of using using color in a composition. 

Extension 

This is the concept of using the ratio of the value of a color to determine the amount of that color used in the composition.  Quick example:  your composition has three different colors, yellow, red, and blue.  The numerical value of yellow is 3, red is 6, and blue is 8.  So if the composition is broken down into units, there should be 17 units, 3 of which are yellow, 6 are red, ect.  The hues of darker value will always be larger than that of the area of the colors of lighter value.  A bit of math was involved loads of planning.  Much more precision than is usually involved in these exercises.

Preliminary designs, conceived on graph paper. 

Composition.  I worked backwards beginning with the O'Keefe composition, then determining the amount of each color in the composition.  Then the colors were chosen to match the values of each color in the composition. 

Color and Form

This principle says that each type of shape should be associated with a color.

Red = vertical and horizontal lines, squares and rectangles

Yellow = diagnol lines and triangles

Blue = circles and archs

Orange = trapezoides, parallelograms

Green = rhombus, spherical triangle, cirlcle with points

Purple = ovals, ellipses

I've been into birds lately, so I used it as a starting point to test the theory.  

 

The composition is from O'Keefe's series of adobe dwellings.  There are some really subtle reds and oranges that didn't translate in this scan, but overall I really liked the strength of the red in this composition.

Spacial Effects

This perhaps is the concept I was most familiar with of all those we have studied thus far.  Colors advance (in the foreground of a composition) when they are warmer, purer, and have more contrast.  Colors recede (in the background of a composition) when they are cooler, less intense, and have less contrast.  This is a concept frequently used in my landscapes and perspectives.  Fun stuff.

The preliminary exercises demonstrate how colors recede and advance when in contrast with different colors.

The composition I chose by O'Keefe was rather flat and abstract, and it was an exercise in how to create depth without relying on perspective alone.   I really like O'Keefe's original, as always.