Circular logic

Franz Bishoff
I apologize to to all of you who commented yesterday and didn't get a reply from me. I was writing the post very late and I collapsed. Its a long story. One of you from the Rockport Demo asked me about the guitar player I was recommending so highly.That was Johnny A here is a link where you can hear him play. What a magnificent player. Those of you who don't rock, can go back to sleep.

Here is an example of a circular composition. I have been talking about designs and said this;
What I meant was that design is a human construction and can not be copied from nature. You use decision making to add it to your painting. Design is a decision making and not a transcription process. No matter how carefully you copy that which is before you, you won't end up with a designed painting. Design is a construct, a geometric armature upon which you build your painting. I think I will show some examples for a while here. The most important thing I want to teach on this blog, design. Not just how-to, but you-should. You can learn to draw accurately, in fact that is essential. But it is not enough to make a picturemaker of you, only a journalist.

Circular compositions work well in square canvases. The square almost makes the design happen on it's own. Many painters who have worked on square canvases have used circular designs routinely. Above is the Edgar Payne, and below is the same picture with the circular design indicated.
It is customary to call this a circular design, but in my own work, I think of it as a whirlpool or a vortex. I like to try and spin them around a few times before the escape. I have painted a lot of 26 by 29 paintings and almost all of them have been vortexes. It is a powerful and sometimes almost violent way to set up a painting. A well worked out vortex painting is to my mind the most arresting composition. Below is a Waugh.

And here is a diagram of its design.

Tomorrow, I believe I will write about the group mass composition.