Project 2

Theme/Inspiration:

The theme I chose for this project was water. I felt that water, which is fundamental part of all living things, would be an interesting thing to explore in the different categories of balance, repetition, movement, and emphasis and economy. I am also taking a class on oceanography this semester, so I guess I have had water on my mind. What especially interested me visually about water was the fact that it is extremely fluid and organic, yet it also behaves according to strict governing properties. My goal was to portray the flowing substance of water using distinct lines and forms. My inspiration for the project was the work of Katsushika Hokusai. I particularly liked the way in which Hokusai often depicted organic things using sharply defined shapes and lines. I felt that this contrast was perfect for the way in which I wanted to illustrate the duality of water within the four chosen categories.

Movement:

For my movement piece, I wanted to show water in its one of its fastest and most violent forms. I also wanted to show water on a grander scale than my other pieces, so I chose the image of a giant wave crashing against a lighthouse. I think this painting is successful in depicting the power and strength of the wave. However, this piece is probably the least effective in terms of its category. The wave is so balanced and given so much weight that it almost becomes static. While a crashing wave is something with a great amount of movement, the image itself does not convey a sense of movement. It becomes confused by the play between content and subject matter. In class, someone suggested that the waves both in the background and foreground move decidedly from left to right in order to convey more movement.

Repetition:

With this painting of water drops on a surface, my goal was to convey repetition without having any objects that are entirely the same. Instead, the sense of repetition comes from objects of similar shape and similar line. A heavier line towards the front weights each drop and there is a pattern to the way the drops become smaller and fade as they go into the distance. I wanted to avoid having the repetition of the piece make it boring, so I varied the shape of the drops and gave a sense of perspective and depth as the drops seem to be getting further away. This also created a bit of movement. While this is probably the simplest of the four, I think this is the most effective in terms of category.

Balance:

This piece shows a close-up of a water drop that has hit the surface of water and caused ripples to form. While the painting is not exactly symmetrical down the center, the two halves are similar enough to balance the piece from left to right. A variety of different weighted lines prevents it from becoming too monotonous and gives a sense of depth to the surface of the water. The thick black line at the bottom might give more weight to the bottom of the piece; however, the drop at the top seems to draw the attention of your eye enough to balance this out.

Emphasis & Economy:

For emphasis and economy, I chose the exact moment when a drop of water enters the water’s surface. Since this is a similar subject as my painting for balance, I chose to show this from a side view. I tried to simplify the image down to the basics while keeping just enough detail to make it dynamic. As was pointed out in class, this piece has more actual movement than my movement piece. Although the drip is placed almost exactly center (which can be boring), the lines of the surface on either side extend upwards and meet the edges at different points which prevents it from becoming to static. My goal was to emphasize the drop as it hits the water by having the three lines of the surface water and the pouring water draw the eye inward. The other drops in the air and under the surface add a bit of variety and further move the eye across the piece.