Achieve using shapes in your sketchbook
Shapes from my sketchbooks
“Draw a new shape in nature every day”
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Drawing begins with line. Draw a graphite line, and you have grey. Grey is blah. Add colored pencils and get more interest. The next step in a painting is shape. Join two or more lines together, and you’ll have a shape! Shapes are eye-catching. Flat shapes of color are magnificent! Artists spend their entire art career producing shape-oriented work. Judi Bett’s work is shape focused. Henri Matisse’s work is shape focused. Let’s explore how you can enhance your work with shapes.
How to use shapes to your advantage.
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Repetition. This technique is easy to use. Sketch out a form, such as a flower. Now repeat this shape in your composition. Vary the shape by using different sizes. Make the edges similar yet different. This is called alternation. Vary the color, the lighting, the size. In this way, Shapes will unify your page.
Dominance. Make one-color dominant. Push by using primarily warm or mostly cool colors. The sun’s warm rays penetrate with yellows, oranges, and earth tones. Use a warm colors. With a cool oceanscape, use primarily blues and greens.
Underpainting. A fun way to use shapes in art is with underpainting. Get some high tack Frisket Film. Cut out some shapes, but vary them. Again, use dominance by using mostly geometric shapes or choose soft curves. I recommend using a shape that agrees with your subject matter. Curved for flowers, blocky for a structure. Put down a light wash and let dry. Next, put down your frisket film. Apply an additional wash over this film. Let dry for at least 2 hours. Pull up the Frisket Film and you will have an abstract background of shapes to unify your painting. You can now paint your main subject on top of this newly revealed abstract painting.
“Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun” Psalm 74:16