Design Principles in Art!

Artist can unify their art work through a multitude of ways, one of them being through the way different colors interact with one another, their contrast or similarities can portray a vivid image such as the one above. That is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh titled, Starry Night, the different shades of blue combined with the bright yellow unify the image to create a picture of a night sky filled with stars. A sense of unity is felt through the shapes of a painting, the swirling pattern of the night sky as well as other wavy pattern unifies the painting with a surrealistic sense of movement.

                      Asymmetrical balance is created through the various balances of small and large forms, light and dark, and the differences in color. In this painting, Jockeys Before the Race, the tree trunk that cuts through the middle is used as a focal point, it creates a balance with the figures behind it which also creates an illusion of depth. The light warm colors of the horse riders and the dark brown colors of the horses creates a balance between light and dark. There is also a balance as you view the painting from right to left the images appear smaller.

 Scale can be used to signify distance, importance or simply to inspire wonder through its size. In the realistic sculpture by Rob Mueck, we see a very large sculpture can “Standing Woman”. The size of the sculpture in relation to the size of the viewer is made to conjure feeling of awe, the act of looking up can also intimidate the viewer. The realistic qualities of the sculpture works in contrast with the totally unrealistic size which gives it a literal larger than life persona.