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Using Notan Studies for Composing Painting

  • Apr 8, 2019
  • 1 min read

Since my two weeks in Cuba I have been thinking of all of the paintings ideas that I've been holding on to, waiting until I had time to explore them further. Recently I used one as a lesson in design for my class. Here is the actual photo:

I did a Notan study as shown here. In a Notan study, each shape is assigned to either black or white. There are no mid-tones. It is totally focused on design. One does not make the painting from this, of course. But once you have a strong composition, you can paint the mid-tones and the result is a three valued "value study".

I wanted to illustrate that the Notan study showed a composition that was lacking in a sense of balance. Everything seems to be compressed into a confining space. The following Notan study changes the composition into a vertical design, and the viewer's eye is drawn upwards.

In the finished painting, I did not include the basket hanging over the clothes line. Here is "Hung Out to Dry in Havana".

 
 
 

18 Comments


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toootaa1210
Mar 22

Mình có lần lướt đọc mấy trao đổi trên mạng thì thấy nhắc tớiشيخ روحاني nên cũng tò mò mở ra xem thử cho biết. Mình không tìm hiểu sâuرقم شيخ روحاني, chỉ xem qua trong thời gian ngắn để quan sát bố cụcرقم شيخ روحاني cách sắp xếp các mục và trình bày nội dung tổng thể. Cảm giác là các phần được trình bày khá gọn, các mục rõ ràng nên đọc lướt cũng không bị rối Berlinintim, với mình như vậy là đủ để nắm شيخ روحاني مضمون tin cơ bản rồi.

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Martin Jon
Martin Jon
Mar 16

Really enjoyed this explanation of Notan studies and how simplifying shapes can strengthen composition. It’s interesting how breaking things down visually can improve creative work. When I take a short break from reading art blogs like this, I sometimes play a quick 2 player game online since it loads instantly without downloading anything.

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