A Key Aspect of Variety in a Work of Art Is

What Is Variety in Art?

Multifariousness in art refers to the apply of dissimilar qualities or instances of the visual elements. It is the contrary of repetitive or monotonous use of the elements.

Below is a slap-up demonstration of variety by Tom Thomson. Notice all the different colors, lines, shapes, and brushwork. The cease result is pleasing and interesting to look at (the goal of most paintings).

Tom Thomson, Opulent October, Winter, 1915

For the purpose of composition, below is a painting by Claude Monet which demonstrates a limited variety of elements. Only that is appropriate for this foggy depiction.

Claude Monet, The Palace of Westminster, The Fog Effect, 1903

(You might besides be interested in my Painting Academy course. I get into more than detail on how to blueprint interesting compositions for painting.)

Below I discuss some of the different ways yous can comprise variance into your paintings below.

Color Variance

There are 3 principal means y'all can vary your use of color:

• Value (how light or dark a color is);
• Saturation (how rich, brilliant or intense a colour is); or
• Hue (where a color is located on the colour wheel).

Beneath is an example of color variance in terms of value. At that place is hardly whatsoever alter in saturation or hue.

Camille Corot, The Gust of Wind, 1860

The stunning Impressionist painting below features color variety mostly in terms of value and saturation. Calorie-free and saturated colors are used to draw your attending towards the focal betoken in the painting, existence the faces of the four ladies. There is limited hue variance, with mostly different red and yellowish tones beingness used.

Abram Arkhipov, Visiting, 1915

Monet's work is a fantastic example of hue variance. If you await closely at the painting beneath, observe all the singled-out colors—blues, purples, greens, reds, oranges, yellows.

Claude Monet, Haystacks, 1891

Beneath is some other example of color variance in terms of value and hue by Monet. There is a strong value contrast between the shadowed trees in the foreground and the high-key background. If yous narrow down on the groundwork, notice how information technology is all painted inside a very tight value range, only there is a wide variety of unlike hues (yellows, purples, greens, dejection, oranges).

Claude Monet, Juan-Les-Pins, 1888

(If you want to larn more than most colour, make sure to take hold of my free Color Theory Cheat Sheet).

Line Variance

Line is perhaps the near fundamental of all the visual elements. Information technology basically refers to a mark that spans between two points. Your lines can be:

• Thick or sparse
• Broken or continuous
• Long or curt
• Directly or curved

In the remarkably realistic painting below past Ivan Shishkin, the copse form verticle lines throughout the painting which vary in terms of thickness, length, and colour. Overly repetitive use of line in the painting would announced unnatural and rigid.

At that place is also a pleasing contrast between all the verticle lines and the horizontal or diagonal lines formed by the edges of the path, river, grassy country, and the tree canopy and floor.

Ivan Shishkin, In the Birch Tree Forest, 1883

Nicolai Fechin was a master of line piece of work. In his cartoon below, notice the delicate and clean lines used to outline the subject'southward face and features; the rough lines used for her hair; the short, tapered lines used for her eyelashes; and the soft lines used for her lips and olfactory organ.

Nicolai Fechin, Drawing

Brushwork Variance

Many beginner painters tend to develop a bad habit of overly repetitive brushwork. They use the same strokes over and over again without thinking.

In that location are so many unlike marks you lot can make with your castor which vary based on:

• The style you agree your castor;
• The force per unit area y'all use;
• The amount of pigment you use;
• The fluidity of the paint (how much medium you use);
• The surface you are painting on;
• How dry your brush is; and
• The bending of the brush.

Joaquín Sorolla's work is a masterclass in brushwork. Look at the variety of his strokes in Bacchante below. Short, aggressive strokes are used for the background areas. More refined and blended strokes are used for the female around the eye. Solid strokes are used for the deep cerise wall in the corner. And so much brushwork variance, but it all seems cohesive and purposeful. I get a feeling of organized chaos.

Joaquin Sorolla, Bacchante, 1886

Fechin is another artist who comes to heed when thinking of brushwork variety. He used all kinds of strokes and tools to create his dynamic paintings.

In Lady in Lilac below, notice how well-nigh of the painting appears like nix but an abstract organisation of colors. But as a whole, it all seems to work. The intricate brushwork used for key features gives context to the rest of the painting.

Nicolai Fechin, Lady in Lilac, 1908

Technique Variance

Technique basically refers to the means and methods by which you apply paint to canvas. Some of the main techniques are scumbling, glazing, linework, and palette knife work. But the only limit in this area is your imagination.

Joseph Turner's work features a masterful range of techniques, from ambient scumbling to intricate linework. Below are three of his paintings. I propose you take a wait through his piece of work to get some ideas of how y'all can incorporate varies techniques into your work whilst retaining a sense of cohesiveness. You should also check out my mail on his painting below, The Fighting Temeraire.

J.M.W. Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, 1838

J.M.W. Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed – The Swell Western Railway, 1844

J.M.W. Turner, Goldau, 1841

Shape Variance

Nothing stands out more than than a lack of shape variance. It tends to look bland and unnatural if you use the same circles or squares throughout your painting (unless you are painting rigid architecture).

Your shapes tin exist:

• Big or small
• Geometric or organic
• Solid or weak
• Lite or night
• Colorful or tiresome

Shape is a strong feature in Claude Monet'sCurvation to the W from Etretat beneath. The cliff forms several strong shapes in the positive and negative infinite (the positive space being the cliff and the negative space beingness the sky in the background).

Claude Monet, Arch to the W from Etretat, 1883

I have outlined these dominant shapes beneath. When I call up about shape, I beginning think in terms of these ascendant,big-picture shapes.

I tin can break the ascendant shapes down into smaller, more intricate shapes, as shown below. Find all the variety in these shapes; no two shapes are the same.

If yous desire to see more examples of shape variance, you should check out the work of Edgar Payne. He was a main of using shape to depict the natural environment.

Edgar Alwin Payne, Sycamore in Autumn, Orangish County Park, c.1917

Edge Variance

An edge represents the transition between two shapes. Information technology tin be either difficult, soft, or lost.

Edge variance is essential if you want to paint with a quality of realism. If you only employ hard edges in your painting, then it volition look very harsh and rigid. If you just employ soft edges in your painting, then it volition wait blurry and out of focus.

Venice in the Fog past Sargent is a beautiful demonstration of edge variance, with soft edges used to draw the moody background, and hard edges used for the busy foreground.

John Singer Sargent, Venice in the Fog, 1882

Below is some other example by Sargent. Notice how difficult edges draw your attending towards the beggar's out strung hand, which is a key characteristic of the painting.

John Vocalist Sargent, A Parisian Ragamuffin Girl, 1877

Additional Readings

If you want to learn more about this topic, you should check out my posts on the principles of art and the other visual elements.

Cheers for Reading!

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I appreciate it! Feel free to share with friends. If you lot want more painting tips, check out my Painting Academy course.

Happy painting!

Dan Scott

Draw Paint Academy

quirionfriltang.blogspot.com

Source: https://drawpaintacademy.com/variety/

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