When you look at a piece of artwork, your eye should go to the focal point and most often the focal point has the most contrast in range of values. The following image was done by Daniel Heywood (my husband and yes that's me at the bottom of the stairs.) Notice how the most contrast is between the business suit and the wall. This leads your eye directly to me at the bottom of the stairs. Your eye should then after, go to the banana in front since that is the next area with the most contrast. Also, take note that the smooth peel of the banana and the rough texture of the concrete create another form of contrast. For this assignment, we'll be focusing on just the contrast of value range and we'll leave texture for another assignment.
(noun) - A principle of art, contrast refers to the arrangement of opposite elements (light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth textures, large vs. small shapes, etc.) in a piece so as to create visual interest, excitement and drama.
The colors white and black provide the greatest degree of contrast. Complementary colors also highly contrast with one another.
An artist can employ contrast as a tool, to direct the viewer's attention to a particular point of interest within the piece.
The oil painting below is from Mark Demuro's Monkey Series and it's titled "Black Tie - White Tie"
He's very good as using contrast in his paintings to capture the viewers attention. Try looking through his Monkey Series paintings and notice how he uses contrast to draw you to certain areas of the painting. Don't be mistaken when you think color is drawing you in. You may think the red lips on a monkey as being the full reason for being the focal point but think in terms of black and white. If the color paintings were turned into a black and white image, where would the greatest contrast be in terms of value?
Assignment #5:
Since we're focusing on contrast in terms of the value scale, this assignment should be done in Black and White (and the greys inbetween.) You can use the full range of the value scale but remember to use the most contrasting values on the focus of your artwork. The focus or focal point is where you want the viewers attention to be directed to in your art piece.
This assignment is Due Wednesday July 16th at Midnight. Please follow the directions on the right column for submission.
As always, all assignments can be done using any medium and any dimensions but for those who would like more guidelines, recommendations are listed below.
Recommended Materials and Dimensions: Use white paper and a black marker or pen to make your art piece. Draw a bug or insect or choose your own subject. Your finished piece should be at least 8" x 10" (or 20 x 25 cm)
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