Whilst reading the basics of the Golden Ratio, I gathered that this term simply referred to separating one canvas or painting surface into two unequal parts to create a structure and placement for the subject matter of the painting, which I do think to be quite helpful as it is a well known technique giving instant structure and special awareness for the painter. I also researched the golden spiral which is a curve added on top of the golden ratio, which creates a flow which the artist could use to their advantage and ensure that the subject takes the form of the curve and therefore leads the eye across the entire canvas.
The final thing that I researched in terms of techniques and structure was the rule of thirds which I had already been familiar with. However even after research I wasn’t quite sure whether this technique was a case of squaring up into thirds and placing the subject matter into the blocks or sitting on the line. With this being so I realised that the latter was much more aesthetically pleasing than the former, creating something more than just your typical blocks and sections of a painting. One artist that did this extremely well was genre painter James Tissot. Tissot managed to place his figures and objects in such a way that many of his paintings roughly met the criteria of the rule of thirds and one in particular worked with this technique extremely well. His ‘A Passing Storm’ works well with this structure as the painting depicts two lovers who have perhaps quarrelled as he is about to go back to sea life using the weather as a connection to the passionate and irrational relationship. Regarding the structure, Tissot sat the figures just outside the outline to emphasise the emotional distance and to foreshadow the impending separation.
SOPHIE FAWCETT'S OCA LEARNING LOG 