Sunday, May 23, 2010

Powerspots 4

Above is a painting by John Constable, provided by our friends at artrenewal.org. This painting is constructed using the powerspots. Here is where they fall on this image.

I have drawn a red line joining the two powerspots on the right. The weight of the tree is poised on that line. The boys head on the tow horse, falls on the right, lower powerspot. This is not an accident, Constable designed it this way. The two elements balance one another, The boy on that horse is able to balance an entire tree because he is a figure and that is arresting of our attention, by the way. It is possible to balance a large shape with a very interesting small one.

Here is Thomas Coles The Course of Empire, Desolation. Its pretty easy to spot this one. Below is another example, Duel after a Ball, by Leon Gerome.

Here the lower left powerspot is the location of the action. OK enough of the powerspot posts. Tomorrow I will march onwards.

6 comments:

Gregory Becker said...

In your opinion do you think it is just as interesting to have voids that strke the composition in those areas, where the ojects of the landscape are used to point to those areas? I've seen Corot do it. I mean just as easily as I can put a tree there or a colomn, I can also create an opening in the trees showing the sky. I may experiment with this. It may make an interesting balance of opposites to have void and substance playing against one another.

Gregory Becker said...

Where is everyone?

Stapleton Kearns said...

Gregory:
I hadn't thought about it, but I don't see why it would make any difference. You could put a big tree hole there and get the same result as an object.
...................Stape

Stapleton Kearns said...

Gregory:
Out loading the pods onto the trucks in the town square.
............Stape

willek said...

This will be fruitless as the comments have already been answered, but I think Cole's picture above would have been stronger if the moon was in aaaaan "eye" The painting seems little unsettled where it is. Maybe that was planned., Eh?

Stapleton Kearns said...

Willek;
I am glad to find you are still on your perch. I wondered about that too., I guess it might have felt tooo balanced.
..................Stape