BASICS OF DESIGN AND COMPOSITION IN TWO DIMENSIONAL ART- Part 5

In the Wind, Study for Collage.                                  © by Ruth Zachary

I have many books on Composition, and only one contained a list of the Elements and Principles of Design and Composition. That book is, Art Fundamentals, Theory and Practice, by Otto G Ocvirk, Robert Bone, Robert Stinson, and Philip Wigg, from the Department of Art at Bowling Green State University, published by Wm C Brown Co.1962. It was not very clear, and probably not up to date.

Another book from 1994 contained the information, but in a different arrangement.

So wanting a more modern consensus about these terms, I went to Wikipedia for definitions about Design and Composition.

I will incorporate abridged information from Wikipedia when relevant to the sequence that I have arranged so that it contributes to building on the foundation of previous  experience for those just beginning to embrace art in their lives.

Above all, this is intended for the beginner as well as the experienced artist, and people who already have an understanding of these steps of progression should know when to skip over points no longer helpful to them. By all means, I hope those people will just Read the Pictures!

ABRIDGED from Wikipedia:

In the visual arts—in particular painting, graphic design, photography, (the two dimensional arts) composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art, as distinct from the subject of a work.

(The categories of Genre or Subjects have been touched upon previously in earlier blog posts.)

“Composition can also be thought of as the organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art.”

“The term composition “means 'putting together,' and can apply to any work of art, …that is arranged or put together using conscious thought. In the visual arts, composition is often used interchangeably with various terms such as design, form, visual ordering, or formal structure, depending on the context.”

Design may be defined as the aesthetic arrangement of shapes and other elements within a two dimensional picture plane.

Writing on this post is the Copyright  © of Ruth Zachary.

THE BEST LAID PLANS....

Nature's Bounty                                                                  © by Ruth Zachary

-->

Hi Blog Followers!

I am sorry I have not kept up with my usual schedule for blogging… about four times per month.

I have been “blessed” with a bumper crop of apples on my two back yard trees. Usually having an organic approach to harvesting my back “forty,” meant the apple worms got about 90% of the apples. This year, cool Weather not only went just right for only minor freezing, and also eliminated a lot of the worm problems. Rain also filled the branches with glorious fruits, that clung to their mothers tenaciously, until several branches broke off from the trees, and fell to the ground, branches, apples and all. Other branches weighted by fruit hung down to the ground, so that I could mow the grass  with a careful strategy.

I pruned the low hanging branches and salvaged the apples. First I rescued the apples from the fallen and drooping branches, sorting the good from the bad, until I had filled 23 recycled grocery bags with mostly pre-ripened apples.

Not wanting to waste good food, I looked for places to give all these delicious sweet apples, I called the local Food Bank, but they were deluged with apples from other sources who had experienced the same sort of blessings. Finally the Salvation Army, which maintains a kitchen picked up my first shipment of apples.

"First shipment", because the job is not yet complete. There are more apples, now nearly ripe, that I hope to distribute to Orgs that help the homeless and needy. Plus, there will be some for home use,and to give to friends and neighbors.

So I will post my blogs as I am able, and you will know why I have missed a few dates before and after this post.

UPDATE OCT. 31

Most of the apples have been delivered and/ or harvested. Two varieties remain on one tree, and
people continue to pick more, and I hope will do so until they freeze and are no longer any good.

 The Image and Writing are © by Ruth Zachary.