February 5, 2008 9:45 pm

I value other artist opinions, so I would ask you to do me a favor and take a look at my art, tell me honestly what you think by rating it or commenting. Please take a look at “About the Artist” for a description on my new series of paintings. Thank you in advanced, G. Alex Urquhart (ArtByTheFoot)

December 30, 2007 5:08 pm

Structure and form.

Regardless of where I have got my idea for a painting from, be it life or imagination, the structure and form of the painting is considered before and during the painting process.

It's sometimes a question of balance: The different aspects of the structure and form have to "work".

Key aspects: Size, Shape and how many elements to include.

Some of the considerations are closely linked to choices made with colors used. I always look for ways to create contrasts within the design, like:-

Small/large soft/hard edges square/round edges dark/light

During the consideration stages of contrasts, I will always look at the ratio value of one to the other, for example:-

RATIO = 5/3, meaning 5 small shapes to 3 large shapes, or it could be 5 square shapes to 3 "round" shapes. With this in mind, the greater the distance between the numbers the greater the element(s) of the lesser value will stand out "from the crowd"? With a ratio of 5/1, the element of the value of 1 will stand out as it is in the minority. I will sometimes use the Fibonacci number sequence to determine the ratio values, like 3/5 or 5/8, etc. The reason for this is the fact that the fib. number sequence is linked to the laws of nature and it's growth sequences.

Whichever contrasting elements are used, I will always work out the painting design for the different shapes and forms in conjunction with color, for contrasts in colors used will strengthen the balance/imbalance I wish to achieve in the overall painting.

I always find the amount of thought that goes into the painting, before and during the painting process surprising. I do believe it is important to give deep thought to the different shape elements and their position on the canvas, as the meaning and the feeling you wish to achieve can change or even be lost if put in the wrong place or of the wrong ratio. Even though great thought is put into the design, I will also allow the accidental, intuitive and inspirational marks which come about during the painting process to help me decide in which direction the painting should go .

Why should I give so much consideration and thought to the work when it's primarily abstract based? Well, consider this…to me shapes that have round or soft edges are "gentle", "feminine" or based on elements found in nature (shapes that can be found in the natural world); shapes with hard or square edges, to me, are "aggressive", "masculine" or based on elements taken from the man-made world (how many elements in nature have straight edges?). So, if I want to create a work that I wish to convey a certain feeling, say a "gentle" work with soft colors, then I would be wrong to choose or make shapes with hard/square edges?

What is right, what is wrong?

I suppose when doing abstract work, there is no right or wrong? Yet, there are some occasions that the characteristics of the shapes and forms may have to follow certain rules. Why? Well, I always struggle to find answers but lets consider this…even when doing a pure abstract work , you can always sense that something is going right or wrong. So, I believe there must be some buried, primal instincts in humankind that resurface when we bath ourselves in the art of creation. One of the first (root) thoughts I have before I begin to paint is, should the work be based on nature or of man-made elements found in our world, or perhaps a mixture of the two (which is when I will look at the ratio of one to the other).

I will use the different contrasting elements and the different ratio values to help me make my choice in regard to what type of painting I wish to create, like, do I want to create a peaceful work or one which gives the feeling of chaos (something that you find unsettling). You can always find examples in the real world to help you make these choices. For example, a landscape of rolling hills and water seems peaceful - put a skyscraper in the middle of it, and it seems wrong, unsettling. Being in a city surrounded by skyscrapers seems "right", expected - for it's a city. Now put a pond in the middle of the road and it becomes unnatural. In short, a painting dominated with soft, round shapes would be considered natural, based on nature. A painting dominated by shapes with hard and squares edges would be considered unnatural.

When these considerations are used alongside the considerations given to color choices, you end up with an endless database of information that can be applied or left out of the work to create original works of art. Remember, although an element in nature may be of a certain color, it does not mean you have to use that color to represent the natural element in your work. By changing the colors you can create an unnerving/unnatural painting, although it's based on elements taken from the natural world.

We are only limited by our ability to make choices, being willing to break the rules of nature and embrace the accidental/inspirational feelings that runs through our bodies during the painting process.

December 30, 2007 5:06 pm

Fib. number sequence within color mixing.

Interest in my experiment into color mixing has shown, so I will try to explain how I tried mixing colors using the Fibonacci number sequence.


Basically, the whole concept and method of experiment was simple in the raw sense but, as I investigated the idea further, it became more complicated.

The basic concept.


Fibonacci number sequence = ...1,1,2,3,5...
The color mixing sequence = 1 part of one color to two parts of another color. Or perhaps, 2 parts of one color to 3 parts of another color, etc.
Basically the parts of color relate to the volume/measure of one color to another, with the relationship of values base on the fib. number sequence.

I first started with the base colors (prime colors: red, yellow and blue), then moved onto the secondary colors and so forth. The whole process looked very simple on the outset but, became very complicated. One reason for this is the fact that I read books on color theory by different people and found that they gave numerical values to colors, like in complimentary colors and how the relationships of these colors can be expressed using numbers. I tried to incorporate these numbers into the fib. number sequence...resulting in me getting a bit bogged down in theory and getting removed from the main idea of being an Artist, which was to paint.

What I can say is, the experiment produced some interesting color mixing results, although I'm unsure as to the results having any real connection to colors that can be found in nature, which was the whole idea: To use the fib. number system to produce colors that can be found in nature, for I thought as the fib. number sequence was based on nature and it's growth cycles, I thought it would be a useful tool.

Why not give it a go? Let me know about your results and what you think of the theory.

December 30, 2007 5:03 pm

COLOR

Within my creative process, color is one of the most fundamental considerations when looking at the overall painting design. Because I like to paint semi-abstract or pure abstract works, I have no real subject matter for the viewer to connect to. The emotional connections with the work can only be made through its colors, shape and form. The viewers interpretation of what the work is about is born out of free association: Basically, it's the personal historical experiences of the viewer, in regard to what colors they have been exposed to and what feelings have been born out of the experience that will build up a profile of what works they will like or hate. For example, say as a child your favourite bike was lime green - you can remember all the fun times you had with your friends riding around free as a bird. Lime green now has an association with fun. Say as a child, the color of the garage door was lime green and you hated that garage because it was dark and cold, and you was always afraid that should you enter into the space the door would come down and trap you in that unwelcome space. Lime green now has an association with dread. What this highlights to me is the power of color. A painting that I have done, dominated by lime green will mean different things to different people and be the key to unlocking different emotions for the viewer.

Apart from the personal experience that people have with color, there is also the generalized associations with the key colors on the color wheel. For example, red can be linked to blood, danger, love - even to the color of the lipstick worn by the woman you love; blue can be associated with the sky, sea, or even the color of the shirt worn by a love lost. Each color on the color wheel and all it's associated mixes can be used together or on their own to build up different emotional profiles to different people.

This is the beauty of painting abstract art. Devoid of subject content found in the real world, the painting has to rely on the colors, shapes and forms to make emotional connections with the viewer. Each painting - depending on the color content - will unlock different emotions for different people. One painting will have different values and hold the key to different emotional landscapes. To me, it's only in abstraction, that the power of color will be fully realised. For me, a painting that has content taken from reality and represents something of the real world dilutes the power of color.

Before I start a painting I will give considerations to the choice of based colors used. What colors are chosen may depend on what emotions I wish to express or the color of objects found in the real world which have generated the initial painting idea. I suppose the color choices can only be based on my own personal emotional color pallet. The personal connections I have with the work may be lost to other people because they have a different emotional color pallet. But, that's good, for one painting becomes many paintings to many people. Each abstract work I do, will become unique in the connections with the viewer or owner of the work. You may wish to share the emotional content of what the work means to you - or you may not. It can be your secret. A lot of my work hides emotional secrets. That is one of the things I like about painting: You can hide your emotional diary within the layers of paint.