Thank you for your patience, as I was unable to focus on the Principles of Design in April.

This month, I want to talk about emphasis. Emphasis is what the artist wants the viewer to notice; the point of the piece. It is achieved by using the Elements of Art and many Principles of Design. In fact, there are so many ways to emphasize an area in your work, that I would confuse both of us if I tried to explain them all. So, I will talk about a few things you can think about to achieve emphasis in your art today.

An artwork can have several areas of interest, but one should be dominant. This can be achieved through color, value, contrast, texture and placement (or composition). Bold colors and contrast attracts the eye. Composition leads the viewers eye around a painting. From the dominant area, around the work, then back to the dominant area.

In the above painting, the composition leads the view to the focal point or area of emphasis. This area employs the highest contrast in the painting to attract the viewer. Colors are repeated throughout the painting to create harmony, but in the area of interest, the colors are applied boldly, not blended or muted. This also helps draw the viewer to this area.

Before you get your paints out, spend some time thinking about the composition of the piece, where the area of interest will be, and how you will emphasize that area. Solving these problems before you begin painting will help ensure a successful painting. It saves you from realizing, after hours of work, that something is just not right. Try completing the sketch, value study and notan, as shown below, before you begin work on your painting.

The next time you visit MAG (make sure you let me know you are here), look at the artwork to see how the artist emphasized areas of the work. How many different ways to emphasize areas can you find in the galleries?

I hope you find this information helpful and can use it to look at and create art. Thank you for being here!