COMPOSITION: Positive and Negative Balance / Diebenkorn Studies

Ellen Cox

Ever Arango Lopez

Last Friday morning began with a series of drawings addressing positive and negative balance. Each student drew a single item with the objective of activating the negative areas of the composition. Ellen has employed "cropping" to isolate the negative areas. Her composition spirals outward from the upper right hand corner. The keys also establish a strong bottom left to upper right diagonal with the negative areas between the keys reinforcing this push upward.
Ever's drawing has a strong downward push emanating from the upper left to the lower right. The dynamic foreshortening and directional mark-making add to the velocity of the movement.

Rainey Hoaglin

You Nara

In the afternoon, students drew from individual still life arrangements. Rainey has effectively employed atmospheric perspective in her drawing. We enter the composition at the doorknob and wander back towards the bottle. You has also established a close grouping of objects drawing us in along the backscratcher then allowing us to orbit the objects. Both objects exhibit a strong attention to the location of the objects and balance with the negative areas.