Form (Harmony and Pictoral Movement) Research

The first artist that comes to mind when i think of form, for some reason i think of Rembrandt, probably because he really had a good grasp of the idea.

The contrast of the light from the window attracts the viewers eye to the left side of the spiral staircase. This line is "S" shaped, wavy making it more playful for the eye than a straight line.

We see repetition with the steps and also with the arch shaped window, ceiling and arch shaped small door. The twist of the spiral staircase also creates arch shapes.

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The "topic card" i picked was Impressionism, so i decided to study the form of some famous Impressionist artists pieces. Claude Monet is one of my favorite painters and I usually pay more attention to his use of color than form.

As a whole, Impressionist paintings are simple when it comes to brush stroke technique, detail is not imperative. Choppy strokes of color overlapping other colors creates forms of boats, people, water, and a reflection.

At the time of this movement new technology in art such as oil paints in tubes and retractable easels, made it easier for artists to work outside. Most Impressionist art is done outdoors.

This is one of the most recognisable Impressionist pieces around. Van Gogh's Starry Night. He uses more imagination than accuracy here. We see use of repetition, playful lines and texture.

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This is the piece of paper I was given to base my Impressionist work on, Yippee...

I fought with this assignment for quite some time. I went out and got a primed canvas, cut it from 9'x12' to 8 1/2 x 11 then cut a hole in the top left corner of the canvas board to represent the hole left from the hole puncher on this paper. Long story short, i got real frustrated and the impressionist piece i painted is no longer with us. It is destroyed and i literally went back to the drawing board using pastels rather than paint.

Since the impressionists were going outside and painting pretty pictures of Lily pads, gardens and landscapes in their area, i decided i needed to create something i see in nature. However, there is not much colorful nature on D and west 6th street in South Boston. The sunset and the sky rats (pidgins) in my neighborhood are the closest things to pure nature I'm going to find. And that will do just fine for me.

I used the lines I had to follow as a building and a electrical/phone wire. I used the rest of the open space to create harmony with color and movement. You may notice repetition in the shape the bottom left edge creates with the window, three sky rats, and also i revisited the shape of the birds in the clouds as well.