Curiosity Painting Inspiration

colors:

source: http://legenddoll.net/

There are 4 colors present in this picture, which are green, pink, white and light, unsaturated brown. The colors presented are bright and are desaturated, giving a soft impression upon the viewers to highlight the calm atmosphere depicted in the picture. The bright, desaturated, and soft atmosphere of the picture also emphasize on the feminine aspect of the doll portrayed.

source: hawaii.edu

The painting above depicts an ancient style of Eastern brushwork, with thick, impactful discontinued line art and softer, waterbrushed colors that fill the drawing. The combination of strong lines and soft colors results in a contrasting art that is inspirational for me.

Sources for Curiosity Painting

source: depositphotos.com

source: cabinetmagazine.org

source: stockfresh.com/

source: shutterstock.com

source: aliexpress.com

source: Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory

shape and color post

Art by Lee Bontecou

Source: New York Art Blog

This artwork is made up of mostly curvilinear shapes, fashioned to resemble 3-dimensional objects or parts of a machine arranged as part of a structure. Aside from the curvilinear shapes, we can also see the more geometric rectangular shapes serving as the connectors of the curvilinear shapes, tying the whole composition of the art together and making it one piece of artwork. However, even though the rectangular, geometric shapes connect all the other shapes together, their controlled nature gives a stark contrast to the flowing lines that are present in the curvilinear shapes. This gives me the feeling that the geometric structures are preventing the curvilinear 'machine parts' from freely functioning like they are supposed to, creating a distortion in the way the piece harmonized on a canvas.

Art by Emil Nolde

Source: Pinterest

The clashing complementary colors present in the background and foreground of this painting harmonize with one another to emphasize on the figure of a man smoking a cigarette. The hues present in this painting that are the most noticeable are green, red, blue, and orange, with contrast in the saturation of the blue shirt the man is wearing the most apparent along with the darkness of the blue hue. The dark, saturated blue on the man's figure draws our attention to the contrast provided by the warm, bright, and cheerful warmer colors in the negative space (background) of the painting, and seemingly gives out a gloomy vibe from the man because they make the sad, gloomy blue stand out on its own even more. Even though it feels like the brighter colors are representative of all the good things that the world may have to offer to the man, the dark blue that he wears seems like a projection of his less than cheery mood, signifying his battle and inner struggle against the world. I think it also helps that the man is looking down as he smokes in this composition as the action highlights the heavy feelings that he may feel at that moment.

Art by Yoshitaka Amano
Source: You Know; Stuff

The abundance of soft and fine vertical lines in the painting above gives me the impression that there is an intention to hide the figure that is the main subject in the artwork. Although the softness of the flowing lines that form the clothing and the curtain depicted in the artwork can hint at the figure's femininity, hence leading us the viewers to conclude that the subject is a female, this intention of hiding the subject behind the lines' strokes also emphasizes the possibility of 'her' not being a female despite being adorned in accessories. In addition, the lines drawn on the artwork get more concentrated and varied (not only mainly vertical, but get more curvy following the pose of the subject) as they lie closer to the figure, further highlighting the fact that there is something the artist is intensively hiding behind that intense concentration of lines.

"Self-portrait" by Nikos Gyftakis
Source: The artist's official website

Curvy and continuous lines that are used in the design above give a sense of uncertainty and confusion in its mood. Not only do the lines give rise to the confusion, but the expression that the subject displays also enhances and works hand in hand with the line usage to add chaos and despair to the previously mentioned uncertainty and confusion that are present in the artwork. Furthermore, the artist also uses complimentary colored lines in the creation of this particular art piece, which also contribute to the chaos that takes place. The whole combination of curves and colors, given the reasons above, leads me to think that the subject portrayed in the art piece above is presented with a situation that he has no control of and has no idea how to deal with it in a way that would be best for him.