Design Principles I Use and Recommend

The Elements and Principles of Design 

At a point in my travels pouring through books on making watercolors I encountered what I felt to be a gold mine of simplified, "down-to-brass-tacks", concepts on how to construct a good painting. It had the best tabulation of design theory I'd seen yet! It listed 7 elements and 8 principles to consider in designing a painting. The ambiguity was gone!

It was a book written by Ron Ranson called, "Learn Watercolor the Edgar Whitney Way".

In it he covers some personal accounts of Whitney's students while studying with him at

his paint-out workshops. He had quite a style of teaching and could instill his lessons with great flair!

I also have, "Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting", by Edgar A. Whitney himself.

Ed Whitney had what he called, "Elements and Principles of Design", and though these

are directed at watercolors, I believe they can be applied to other forms of art - dancing, cooking, living, etc!

The Elements are listed: Color, Value, Texture, Line, Shape, Size, Direction. In fact, you

can even chant them rhythmically in this order like you would in a protest. This allows me to remember them.

The Principles are listed: Conflict, Harmony, Unity, Dominance, Balance, Repetition,

Alternation, Gradation. ("CHUDBRAG") Again, this order helps me remember them.

The Principles are what you apply to the Elements to orchestrate a good design.

A flagrant example of Repetition where
 the circles are repeated in different Sizes.
Color is also repeated to give Unity,
  Harmony and Balance. 
("Suns and Moons" w/c)

For example, with Shapes, you'd want to Repeat them to help give the painting Unity. Repeating them with variety provides better entertainment. If they are similar in character you get Harmony.

You may have various colors in your painting but maybe one should Dominate, for Unity. Conflict in any of the Elements can create interest, as in complimentary colors.

Some might say, "Well, what about edges?" I'd put those under Shape. Temperature can go as a function of Color. And what about "Variety"? Can it be a Principle in its own right? Sure, if you want. But I think it mainly applies to Repetition. Let's keep it simple!

Here I used Conflict in Value to bring
out the brightness of the flowers. The
Line of the leaves change Direction,
Repeat and provide Harmony
 and interest.
("Light Bulbs" w/c)

I think these are distilled in the best form you'll find. I've seen other versions of them by his students in their own books, but I think Whitney had it the best and the students didn't quite understand how to use some of them.

So there you have it. I recommend getting these books on Amazon. Whitney's book is more in depth and he liked writing in a very scholarly fashion.

I like the simplicity of Ranson's book, the included Whitney-isms, the stories of his students and the samples of their work. Some of them were my early mentors by means of their books.

Are You an Artist?

Are you an artist?  

    A common misconception arises when people think about art. People are quick to put
themselves down as not being an artist. "I'm no artist." "I could never do that." And, "That's not art!", is a criticism I hear about abstract works. 

Innocence and Joy, w/c, Steve Sidare

    The problem is that these mind sets act like viruses. And they have spread across society. 

    I'm sure you've had some idea that got kicked in the head one way or another. Your idea for a solution gets invalidated or ignored. 

    Or you create something you're proud of - a song, painting, recipe, gadget or whatever - but people talk through the song, just stare at the painting, don't even try the recipe you made for the Christmas party and just eat the "same ol' same ol'" like hypnotized zombies at a brain-fest. 

    Or someone acts like you're nuts for your clever invention that keeps squirrels out of the bird feeder. 

    There's no shortage of invalidation on your attempts to create. And I believe it starts with your childhood imaginations! Perhaps you've forgotten because there was a bit of emotional pain connected with it. So now you're "practical", "sensible", and less creative.

Well... let's look at the word and see what it means...

ART: My 1960 New World Dictionary calls it, Creativeness, Skill, ...even, Cunning! 

My American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd Edition, has these: 

Winter Pier, watercolor, Steve Sidare

    1) Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter or counteract the work of nature. (Hmmm...)

    2a) The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty; especially the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium. (Wow!)

    In 3, it says: High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value. It also has 6a) A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of activities, as in "the art of building". (Sweet!)

    Number 7 says: A specific skill in adept performance, conceived as requiring exercise of faculties that cannot be learned solely by study, as in, "the art of writing letters".

    The definitions include: tricks, artfulness, contrivance, cunning, etc, as well.

It originally comes from [<OFr <L ars, astis, skill.]

    ...Now we have -IST. ...Of the 5 choices, we have: 1b) One that produces, operates, makes, plays, or is connected with a specific thing, ie, "Novelist". [Greek, -istes, agent.]

     Notice that "skill" and "beauty" come up more than once. Also notice how it's not limited to creating art forms, per se. Anyone who becomes adept at an activity is an artist in their field! [Now anyone can be "out standing" in their field! (Enter eye-roll here)]

    Definitions 3 and 7 above make me think of the Japanese traditional concept of making many activities a skill and art - all the way from archery to tea. Their culture put beauty and flair in their daily activities!

So why do I bring all this up? 

Distant Boat, watercolor, Steve Sidare

    First, I see art forms that might not be readily labelled "Beauty". They just might not. Are they creative? Yes - to a greater or lesser degree. It came from an idea and was created. But isn't emphasizing beauty more helpful to all? 

    Second, to point out that you too are an artist in what you do if you are employing creative skill. Do you entertain guests? Do you do sales and make customers happy in the end? Are you a matchmaker? Are you an inventor - even if not official?

    Third, to also point out that we are always creating, every second of the day. We are creating thoughts, physical motions (walking, working, building), sounds, problems, joy, you name it! We are natural born artists. 

    So YES. You ARE, in fact, an artist! How are you going to use your creative impulses? 

For Good? Bad? Ugliness? Beauty? 

    Instead of just talking AT you, let me know what you think in the Comments section below!