Gestalt

So, I attended my first belly dance class on Saturday.

It was hard. And it was only three things that we learnt and did. I was not mind blowing, it was just challenging and I have to go back again because I have a little hope that things will get more complex and less simplified. What am I getting at?

Well, in the big scheme of things, it's all about expectations and abilities. I have seen the dancers, I know what I am aiming for, I have tried one lesson, now I want to be amazing too. What am I doing learning three moves? It is clear that before one can run, one has to walk. Learn the fundamentals about how to do something and expand, build and construct something beautiful.

So in terms of drawing and art, I would like to suggest a bit of reading. I would love for you to google articles on Gestalt. Wikipedia suggests that the german meaning which is where the origin lies for this word is "wholeness." Looking at a variety things in their completeness will answer a few things. There are a few fundamental elements that art is made up of and this in not purely visual arts:

Composition.
How you choose to place the objects on the page.
There are many different types of compostions. There is the rule of thirds which in essence is that if you were to divide your canvas/page into threes diagonally and/or horizontally, you can place objects on those lines especially at junction points where 2 lines cross over.
Compositions can be symmetrical and assymetrical. Symmetrical means that objects on either side of the page mirror each other in weight and space. Assymetrical is due to a heavier object placed on the one side which is counterpointed by a smaller strategically placed object that acts like a scale on the brink of tipping.

Shape:
As all my drawing friends hear, I preach about shape finding. Simply put, there are only 3 shapes that feature in drawing and then from those shapes you can mould the object you are drawing. The shapes that you should always look for in everything are cones, rectangles/cubes and spheres. Once you have those you can fill in the details.

Line
The types of line you use can express a mood, or could also emphasise new or focal elements. Also remember to lead the eye through the picture and ensure that all lines return to the focal point.

Colour:
While drawing with charcoal or pencil, you won't need to use colour, but it's really good to look into colour theory for later when you expand to other types of drawing. Learn more about colour theory on this site: http://www.artyfactory.com
They have basic stuff like the three primary colouts - red. blue and yellow (pigment only, not screen colours as this works on a different system using light )
And how to mix them to get the other colours. Directly across from the one colour is a colour that compliments each other: Purple and Yellow, Orange and Blue and Green and Red. Notice that there is always 1 primary and 1 secondary colour.

Primary colour: Red, Blue, Yellow (cannot be mixed as they are the starting colours)
Secondary colours are the combinations of the primaries: Orange (Yellow and Red), Green (Blue and Yellow) and Purple (Red and Blue).
Tertiary colours are mostly brown in colour: can be achieved through mixing either a secondary and a primary together, or 3 primaries.

Weight/Mass
Sometimes an object is light and sometimes an object is heavy. How do we show this? A heavy object will be very solidly drawn on the surface. A feather will be light and whispy in mark-making. Think about how one might portray each items unique attributes.



Have a great week.