I decided to take the face of the girl in the painting 'Agnes', as this section was most interesting and detailed. I wanted to experiment with the way I drew her face, to see if the painting still had the same effect when focusing on only one of the formal elements.
Line
“The 20th century German artist, Maholy Nage described line as "a record of a path of motion." However, line can be much more than that. It is also a record of vision and feeling. Line is a human invention which allows the ability to communicate what we see. The path made by a moving point can be described as two basic line types: straight and curved. Line may also consist of actual marks that can be drawn, or it can refer to the external edges of a shape or form. Whether seen or implied, line is unquestionably one of the artist's most articulate tools. It encloses or liberates space, expresses feeling, conveys movement, suggests mass or volume and creates an image”.
I decided to explore line using ink and a thin nib. I drew around a copy of my original drawing, focusing on just the edges of her face and facial features. Once I had finished, I looked at my work and saw that it looked much more flat and 2 dimensional. The original painting looks extremely real and the curves that were on her face before suddenly disappeared.
Colour
“Colour is the most emotional element of art. Our awareness of colour is conditioned by our environment and our culture. But colour also affects us intuitively. It effects our emotions directly, affecting our moods, thoughts, actions and even our health. In previous centuries colour was termed the sensual part of art because it attacked emotions directly and had no boundaries or rules. Today terms like "seeing red" and "feeling blue" are part of contemporary language”.
The colours chosen for the original painting of 'Agnes' are probably what made it stand out and catch my eye. Natalie Holland had chosen extremely vibrant colours that contrasted greatly with each other, such as bright blue, pink and yellow. It made it looks almost like a cartoon, which then enhanced the childish and innocent nature of the painting. The girl looked happy and excited, whereas I feel that if it had been painted with extremely dark colours such as red and brown, it would not have had the same effect.
Shape
“Like line, shape is an important element in both the rendering and seeing of art, it is used by the artist for three fundamental purposes.
1. To suggest or represent a physical form.
2. To achieve order, variety, and harmony in the composition.
3. To express different qualities of moods and feelings.The term shape refers to any area of a real or imagined object which is defined and rendered by other elements such as line, texture, colour, space or light. Shapes may be either organic, geometric, symmetrical, or non-symmetrical or a combination of both symmetrical and non-symmetrical. Flat shapes may create the illusion of three dimensions on a two dimensional surface and also appear on the surface of a three dimensional form. Unlike form, shape is actually two dimensional, possessing mass but not volume”.
It is easiest to see the shape of my painting when drawn out using continuous line. Whilst I was drawing my continuous line drawing, I had to continue to look at the original painting, never taking my eye off the page. This made me focus on the exact shape that I was drawing to make sure it was accurate. In the painting 'Agnes', there are many curved areas. The flesh of her skin made her face extremely rounded, and the material of her hooded top caused a lot of movement. Her hair was made up of several shapes, as it flowed in all different directions.
Form
“This term has multiple meanings and may be used in the following ways.
1. A verb meaning to shape or order as in " The ceramist formed the clay into a pot.”
2. Organization or composition, as "The form of the work is elegant."
3. The illusionistic representation of a three dimensional form on a two dimensional surface.
4. A mold in which plaster or another material is poured.
5. A three dimensional solid or contained space.For purposes here, the term form will be used to describe three-dimensional solids and contained spaces. In this context, form has both mass and volume, whereas, shape has only mass. To illustrate this, consider a flat piece of paper. It has two sides, each of which have equal mass. When the same piece of paper is rolled into a cylinder, it possesses both mass and volume”.
The girl sitting within the painting looks extremely life-like, therefore clearly possessing mass and volume. Her hair appears to be quite heavy, and she looks like she is using force to hold it up. Her face is extremely 'full' and rounded, which is emphasised by the way the light shines on her, creating shadows and texture.
Space
“Nothing exists without it. Space can be thought of as the distance or area around, between, above, below or within places. In art, space can be described as either two-dimensional or three dimensional.
The space in two-dimensional artworks such as paintings, drawings, prints and photographs (flat space) is essentially limited to height and width. While there is no actual depth or distance in such works, artists have created techniques to create the illusion of depth or distance on these flat surfaces.
Three dimensional space is recognized as having height, width, depth, and is referred to as actual space. This would include sculpture, furniture, architecture, ceramics and jewellery. In the setting of a three dimensional work of art the viewer can freely move around and (in the case of architecture) through it.
Three dimensional art may use both positive and negative space as a means of revealing content and meaning. For example, in sculpture the spaces in and around the form can be described as negative space. Whereas the form itself may be described as occupying a positive space. Another way to consider distinctions of positive and negative space can be equated as the presence of physical material = positive; or in the absence of it = negative”.
'Agnes' is quite 'flat' painting when it comes to space. The girl is simply sitting in front a blue background, and it does not show any more depth than that. There is also not even a suggestion as to how far away from the blue wall she is sitting. All we can see is that the room she is sitting in is extremely empty, shown by the use of negative space around her".
Texture
“Texture can be both real and imagined. In two-dimensional artworks, the artist may produce a smooth or a rough surface in the application of the medium”.
Natalie Holland, through her use of brush strokes, makes the jumper that Agnes is wearing look extremely life-like. This is done by the 'ripples' and creases in the material, especially within the elbows where she is lifting her arms. Holland has also been extremely delicate with the lines she uses for the hair. She uses thin brush strokes to make her hair looks as if it is extremely thick. The way she has painted the hair also creates a lot of movement, again enhancing the realistic texture of natural hair.
Light
“Primitive feelings about light and dark lie deep inside our subconscious. Light in our culture expresses goodness, intelligence, clarity and completeness. Darkness is just the opposite, expressing mystery, ignorance, evil and emptiness. The contrast between dark and light not only describes space and defines forms in art, it also conveys feelings, drama and a psychological as well as a visual dynamic.Artists often want to create a three dimensional illusion on a two dimensional surface. One of the ways this can be done is by rendering the effects of light and shadow as they fall on solid forms. A form that is lit by a single light source will be brightest when it is closest to the source, while other forms will diminish in intensity as they recede from the light source. Aspects of the forms, blocked from the light, will cast shadows. The effects of light are vitally important to our understanding and appreciation of the three dimensional art forms of sculpture and architecture. Light and shadow define the forms of both sculpture and architecture. In Gaston Lachaise's sculpture, Standing Woman, light striking the figure most directly creates highlights. As the contours of the forms curve away the reflected light becomes dimmer making the surface change in contrast and tonal value. These strong value contrasts allow the viewer to witness the drama of the figure swelling and receding back into space”.
It is clear to see that light is coming from the top left corner, as it is this side of Agnes which is more strongly highlighted. This light causes there to be many shadows within her hair, as well as between the different creases of her jumper. The fact that the light is coming above her makes her seem somewhat innocent, whereas I feel that if it was coming from below her, she would looks much more evil.
