Cennini Lessons on-Line...

Compositional abstractions. These are difficult to design! It would be easier, I think, if I did not know how to draw. The art lesson in composition is designed to teach how to "speak forth a message" visually from an imaginary story and it is challenging my mental ability. With that said, I am beginning to see how crucial it is to think this way before ever swiping a brush loaded with paint onto the surface of a canvas.

Here is my initial failed attempt.



(Moderator) Rob gives us an imaginary story of an Indian brave who wants to join his departed bride in the after life and his acceptance of that separation. He wants big abstract forms to tell the story. "What do you want to say?" Now, I must take that story and say something abstractly without using details, or symbolism, or rendering. I see that this is the key to creating a powerful statement.

I will post my progress and see if I can eventually come up with something acceptable. Right now, my drawings show how shallow my thinking has been. Instead of making big form abstractions, I went straight to rendering expressions which is big mistake and the focus in on the wrong character. The brave is the focus not the medicine man. The bride needs to look ghostly.

In reviewing this composition however, I did employ a compositional method without knowing it. I made the space narrow forcing the figures to come out. Originally, I chose to make pyramid shapes; pretty obvious. The moderator suggested that I strengthen these shapes and abstract them. I had trouble placing these in a composition so I decided to work on posing the figures separately hoping to work out a composition in steps. Here are the two sketches. I am still "drawing" instead of making abstractions. I am back to doing quick compositions in black marker on index cards. I think some designs are beginning to come forth. I will post these next.