www.penciltopics.co.uk
THIS PAGE IS PART OF THE SECTION DEALING WITH
This link will take you direct to the main contents page for the site
THIS SECTION ALSO CONTAINS PAGES COVERING :
THIS SHAPE IS FOUND THROUGHOUT NATURE
Look at any Internet search engine for ‘Golden Section’ and you will easily get bogged down in calculations and Algebraic symbols. The two essential things to keep in mind are the fact that the centre of interest needs to fall at around one of the 5/8ths points in a picture ( 2/3rds is not far off ).
And the second fact is that drawing a diagonal across the picture ( B to D in the
drawing above right ) and then throwing a further line at right angles from that
to the corner ‘C’ will find the same spot. This divides the picture into three sections
and again this is a satisfactory composition for the brain -
The link to a very clear explanation -
http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Eugene_Ilchenko/GoldenSection.html
Like any rule there are plenty of exceptions, but if you remember, we are told never to put a horizon line half way up (or down) a picture but to put the horizon line approximately 1/3 of the way. There is very little difference between 5/8 and 2/3.
We don’t have to be precise in our measurements, we just have to hold the idea in our heads when we compose our picture
LOOK AT THESE FOUR WORKS BY NOTED ARTISTS
They are all copyright -
FIRST OFF, Amalfi Coast -
Lovely composition, and you will note that the major elements of the picture are all away from the centre point of the picture where the road comes down to the beach.
The light coloured building which has the lightest light of the end wall adjoining the darkest dark of the shadow, is on one of the golden section points.
Draw a line vertically down a three eighths section from the left and most of the major features fall within it
The Wave, Oil Painting by Clyde Aspervig
The crashing wave shows enormous power and the line of the wave foot is not central but approximately on the five eighths line.
The dark area to the left where the wave has still to break makes a meeting with the foam at the golden section point
Back Place in Rain, Melbourne
Watercolour by Greg Allen
An amazing artwork with a lovely feel to it.
Just look at the lady in the blue coat and orange brolly. She is on the five eighths line from the left and the umbrella is close to that magic golden section point.
Once again there is little detail at the centre
The GOLDEN SECTION
You may also have heard the phrase ‘ Finobacci Sequence’ -
The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers:
0 + 1 = 1 1 + 1 = 2 1 + 2 = 3 2 + 3 = 5 3 + 5 = 8 5 + 8 = 13 8 + 13 = 21 etc etc
We can translate these figures into geometric shapes and then it becomes much clearer why we are talking Maths in an Art article
EACH STAGE REPRESENTS THE
NEXT TOTAL IN THE SEQUENCE The sides of the squares are
the total of each stage
Lets just look at the shapes rearranged a little, and then with a curve drawn round opposite corners
Evening Walk, Enborne
Watercolour by Jeane Duffey
A very atmospheric painting.
Look where the figure stands -
There a lot of nice compositional touches here, but like all the images shown, you can look around and see how the artist avoids the dead centre ground and piles on the detail around the edges of the small block in the centre formed around the golden section points
Don’t get too worried about this area of composition. The rules are not set in concrete, and the picture police will not come calling if you put your main feature in the centre. Sometimes it can’t be avoided.
And like all rules, there are plenty of cases where the rule is proved by the breach of it.
Updated November 2010
ART POINTS
THE LIST OF SUB SECTIONS TO ART POINTS IS TOO LONG TO INCLUDE SEPARATE LINKS IN THIS SMALL PANEL.
PLEASE REFER TO THE DROP DOWN LIST IN THE NAVIGATION PANEL ABOVE -