The Full Range
To run the gamut means to encompass the entire range of something. In drawing, lettering, or any visual art it points to the flood of considerations and implications of each mark made or insinuated. These can be addressed simply as point, line, shape/form, space, texture, value, and color. Using these terms we can discuss artwork with others, and today I will use details from the above painting to talk about the elements of design.
Dot, spot, point, locus, a speck…
When drawing, a locus can be an invisible starting point for a line, a place to begin. No width, no height, no depth. Just location. But location requires thought and a way of defining that location. Even blindfolded we have to aim for the landing pad, the place we will make our mark. An initial assessment of the size and shape of the subject matter may affect where we begin. And even after we make that mark, its ultimate location may change. It’s only the starting point, and is usually the place most natural for you to enter the field. Sometimes the artist will establish several points as initial indicators of placement of the subject, as in a constellation.
When touching the page we must understand that we are touching the viewer’s eye. It is intimate. This is what makes art responsible for its effect. The connection is immediate from your surface point A to their distant location eyeball B, as in from me to you. It is the artist’s job to use design techniques so that each area of the image is seen and enjoyed and the eye is led around and through, returning to the center, over and over again, and not sent off into another world. The satisfied viewer engages in the virtual conversation with the artist through their eye, in the same way we might understand the form of a sculpture in a darkened room, by feel.
Science tells us that our eyes land first on a page at a point slightly above and to the right of center. In the west, we read habitually from left to right, so this is natural. In countries whose language is written in columns from top to bottom or right to left, the habitual landing point will probably be somewhere below or to the left of center. It depends on cultural factors. However, the focal point of an art piece can be located anywhere on the surface, and that is determined by the artist.
I’ll use my painting Congress 108 to talk about the elements of design. A grid of 108 squares is the armature for the painting. Each square makes use of the POINT.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2a991337-f485-45ae-9d8b-405a2ef6af39_507x507.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3b706a24-5267-48af-9f48-5646a0be2705_1566x1566.png)
Line, edge, direction, grid, continuance, shift…
Line that is drawn by hand has motion. Movement pushes, wanders, touches and defines, feeling its way across the open surface with pressure and release, juicy or drybrushed, scrubbed or scumbled. Line always has character, direction, and speed (and of course, color, value, and texture).
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F65dc7c04-a68e-4e1e-8905-a7c1631a1dc0_1050x1050.png)
Shape, form, area, field…
Shape can be flat, two dimensional, or implied as three dimensional form through the use of gradients, overlapping planes, transparency, advancing colors, and differences in value. Forms can appear to be underneath or on top of others, creating interesting ambiguity. A swelling of form, as the nose-shaped area below at center, for instance, can appear to be spatially in front of a warm color area that would normally “advance” toward the viewer due to its intensity. The convex form pushes the advancing color backward.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2424cd14-d887-4ee3-82b9-40049655d65d_1010x1010.png)
Space, volume, dimension, gradient…
Spatial relationships are enormous fun to play with. Over and under, woven forms, and advancing/receding colors create the illusion of space, an atmospheric container of form. Shading, transparency, gradients, and hue shifts form a sense of continuance that allows the eye to follow the flow of color and form. Edges are created without using line simply by adjacent color shifts.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F950d7ed9-e53b-429c-a1af-abe47af2d1f2_1502x1068.png)
Texture…
Texture is visual entertainment, relief from similarity, and an opportunity to employ rhythmic elements that enliven an area or express a mood. While some squares here are simple, others are textured and patterned. Texture is humanistic, free and unruly, just simple hand motion. Texture can be used to create a softer transition from dark to light areas or from one color to another.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd92fd0e6-9dd3-4bc7-aa93-b9d689ca6ab1_1519x1072.png)
Color, intensity, value, shade, tone, tint…
Architectural structures can provide stability with their verticals and angles. Close relationships in tone help to unify large areas while providing opportunity for overlays, transparencies, and very small areas that may invoke atmospheric effects or small landscape vignettes. A shade is a dark value of a hue, a tint is the hue plus white, and a tone is a hue plus both black and white. Lots to play with.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F33d1ec70-2e7c-4a0f-bac6-e21ae625aa8a_2007x530.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffec6860e-5bdd-4307-b33b-f11648bfd25e_1482x522.png)
Each part relates to another, all parts relate to the whole.
A variety of moods can be addressed in one work, just as a symphony contains variations on a theme. There are 108 squares in this painting and each one can be examined as a unit that should hang together and seem interesting and balanced on its own. These are some of my considerations when painting!
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All images in this blogpost are by me. ©2024 Ann Miller.