SHAPE & FORM
“A SHAPE is defined as a two dimensional area that stands out from the space next to or around it due to a defined or implied boundary, or because of differences of value, color, or texture. Shapes are recognizable objects and forms and are usually composed of other elements of design.
In visual design, FORM may be described as any three-dimensional object. Form is defined by light and dark. It can be defined by the presence of shadows on surfaces or faces of an object.”
Melinda Cootsona, “Morning Cup”
Shapes can be geometric or organic, hard-lined or with soft, indefinite edges. Shapes are fundamentally made up of at least one of the other elements (Line, Value, Color, Texture).
We deal with two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional forms every day in our material world. We get used to thinking of forms as ‘things,’ such as a lamp, or a tree or a human form. Artists who practice drawing from life learn to separate shapes and forms from ‘things.’ We try to delete the connotation of ‘things’ from our minds and reduce each item down to a shape. We work to see complicated imagery like a face or landscape as simple shapes in order to translate three dimensions onto a two dimensional surface.* When truly viewed this way, all paintings become works of abstraction.
*For the purpose of this course we are focusing on two-dimensional design, however artists dealing with Form and three-dimensional work clearly learn to concentrate on shape as well.
Positive and Negative Space
Artists often talk about ‘Positive’ and ‘Negative’ space. Positive space generally refers to the ‘thing’ or object, and Negative space refers to the space around the object. The photos below illustrate this concept. Both Positive and Negative space can essentially be translated as shapes and should be seen by the artist as equal in importance. It’s important to understand this concept as we move to the section below.
All Shapes are Created Equal
“All shapes are created equal” is a mantra that you will hear me say often in workshops. Students tend to focus on the Positive shapes and forget or neglect until the ‘end’ the space around the ‘object.’ When a viewer sees a painting, she may see the object first, however the painting will only stand up to repeated interest if it comes together as a whole. Of course this is dependent on many factors including composition, but learning to see each shape in your work as equally important is vital to creating strong imagery and particularly essential in abstract work. To some degree, it’s like putting together a puzzle where each piece completes the whole.
Shape Shifting Project
In the video below I take two different realist paintings into Procreate and cover the shapes with new colors to create abstract images. A realist painting should essentially hold up as an abstract in terms of shapes. If you paint realist work as well, this is a fun exercise to help you really focus on shape. You can do this digitally in a program like Procreate or Photoshop, or you can take a photo of your work, print it out in black and white and paint directly on the paper for a fun exercise.
Please Note: Each video in this course has its own unique password.
VIDEO PASSWORD: Shapes
VIDEO LENGTH: 2:03 minutes
SHAPE MASTERS
Click on any image to visit their website
Dancing with Abstraction
“(Shapes) are unique elements in a unique situation. They are organisms with volition and a passion for self assertion. They move with internal freedom, and without need to conform with what is probable in the familiar world.”
What is Rothko saying here?
In essence I think he is reminding us of two important concepts. If you have painted much at all you will have had the experience of imagining a painting will turn out one way and, as you work, it takes an entirely different direction. It feels as if the painting has a mind of its own…”(an organism) with volition and a passion for self assertion.” As abstract artists we specifically need to recognize and respond to these shapes and to the painting.
Rothko also reminds us to look at the shapes we create in terms of what is necessary for the painting and not as “what need(s) to conform with what is probable in the familiar world.” Shapes not things.
“Like dancing with a partner, the painting and the artist must interact with sensitivity and some degree of passion.”
Mark Rothko
Artist Focus
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KAREN DARLING
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Artist Focus 〰️ KAREN DARLING 〰️
Click on any image to see larger. Visit her website to see more.
Focus on a Single Shape
The works above are by the artist Karen Darling. At one point in her career she was learning to use cold wax medium and decided to concentrate solely on circles and crosses as imagery. These are a few works from her circle series. Using one or two shapes as a limitation is a great way to explore abstraction and push your creativity as you can see from her results above. (And don’t forget artists like Albers and Rothko!)
Paintings focusing on SHAPES
Throughout the classes I provide PINTEREST BOARDS for a specific relevant topic. Click on the logo to see the examples gathered.
Image as a Starting Point
In this video I take a photo of a landscape and use it as a starting point for shapes. I am really only looking at shapes, not colors or even values so much, although values sometimes become shapes. You will see that the photo was really only a ‘jumping off point.’ Coincidentally I read this quotation the day after I filmed this video in an essay by Ruth E Fine speaking of Richard Diebenkorn.
“He often started from forms discovered in the visible world, transforming them as abstraction…and while one may guess as to a composition’s origins, it is the transformation that matters, the starting point becoming increasingly inconsequential to understanding subsequent moves. One does have to start from something, but that something may become invisible.”
Please Note: Each video in this course has its own unique password.
VIDEO PASSWORD: Pink
VIDEO LENGTH: 22:00 minutes
Palette colors from left to right: Gold Ochre, Quinachridone Red, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Lemon, Titanium white, Permanent Green Light, Ultramarine Blue, Transparent Red Oxide, Mars Black, Gel Medium, Cold Wax Medium. Oil Bar = R & F Black
MORE PROJECT SHAPE IDEAS
Work with predominantly hard-edged shapes.
Work with predominantly soft-edged, ethereal shapes.
Create a series focusing on one shape ‘ala’ Karen Darling.
Focus on all organic shapes and curved lines.
Create a piece full of shapes and connect them with lines.
Work with repetition. Repeat two or more shapes covering your surface. Vary the sizes and interpretations of the shapes.
Richard Diebenkorn:
The Catalogue Raisonné
A four-volume definitive resource on the career and unique works of the postwar American artist Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993)
Artist Focus
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SANDY OSTRAU
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Artist Focus 〰️ SANDY OSTRAU 〰️
Click on any image to view larger. Visit her website to see more work.
Sandy Ostrau’s work is driven by shape and color, however, shape is dominant. Like Rutenberg, her inspiration is the landscape, but her paintings are abstracted visions of our world. Ostrau looks for the essence of a place and reduces ‘things’ to an abstraction of shape and color that you can walk into. Here is her artist statement:
“I take scenes of everyday life— people, places and activities— and reduce them to their fundamental elements. I strip away the superfluous detail and minutiae of the moment in order to present each scenario in its essence. At a certain point, specific content is not that important or even relevant, but rather what appears to be going on, creating situations that can be observed or contemplated in more universal ways.”
CONCLUSION
SHAPE
SHAPES are infinite in variety; soft, hard, geometric, organic, on and on. Learning to see all of the Shapes on your canvas as equal in importance is key to understanding your composition and seeing the painting as a whole. Certain Shapes may be central to your composition or be focal points, but paying attention to them all equally as the artist/creator will help you in both realist and abstract work.
Melinda Cootsona, “When I Was Young”