Negative Space & Balance

A painting’s composition can entice the viewer into and through the canvas in a satisfying and pleasing way to a focal point, or it can leave the viewer uneasily adrift in an incongruous and garbled assembly of parts, feeling that something is off. Breaking the “rules” of good composition can ruin a technically well-executed painting of a vase in a still life, a tree in a landscape, or a collection of abstract forms. Use of space, color, texture, light and dark all contribute to a sense of balance and harmony in a painting, but what if one wants to make the viewer a bit apprehensive or uncomfortable?

Sometimes, deviating from what is considered the best practice artistically, or breaking the rules of composition entirely, creates a desired effect.

Firelight

Consider my painting Firelight. Without the movement of color in the upper right quadrant, the painting becomes unbalanced. These graceful forms of color move upward and away from a bright yellow light enclosed in a mass of coalescing colors. This arrangement not only balances the painting but moves the eye back and forth diagonally across the canvas, adding interest.

Falling

Consider now my painting Falling. Here there is an expansive negative space below a dense mass of intermingling colors extending outside of the frame of view. The intent was to create a sense of anticipation or even apprehension. We see the object hanging in midair but perceive the pull of gravity bringing it downward.

Gestation

Consider now my painting Gestation. Once again, the negative space gives the painting an unbalanced feel—the central object sits too low, a portion even edges out of the frame of view. Our minds want to move it upward, to see all of it more clearly. The painting’s title and the unease the painting evokes plays into the way we interpret what we see. The intent was to introduce some uncertainty, to challenge the viewer to reflect on what is depicted here.

Playing fast and loose with composition is certainly risky. Whether I succeed in my attempts, and added an interesting dimension to these paintings is for the viewer to decide, but, for me, experimentation and innovation are part of growing as an artist. So, I will continue to explore the possibilities.