Series 15: Translating Notan
S15 L2 Expanding Shadow Fields – Download
Finding and building a notan according to shadows and lights gives a visually accurate and potentially creative design. Translating notan into color brings it to life.
[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]In this lesson, S15L2 Expanding Shadow Fields of the TRANSLATING NOTAN series, using as her subject a vase of sunflowers and the expanded notan from Lesson 1, Dianne demonstrates translating notan shadow fields into color.
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[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px”] Notan is a Japanese word meaning dark/light, a concept both philosophical and functional, centering on the unity of opposites. As a design principal this principle finds balance and unity between dark and light.
In visual art, we can find notan in the shadow and light construct, a solid approach for forming the value design for composing paintings. This series explores ways to achieve explore this concept with value and hue variations.
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Among Dianne’s passions about painting and teaching painting is how composing principles can expand creative freedom if the artist transcends the “rule” idea and instead, transforms the principle into a tool that opens creative doors. Exploring notan is one portal for doing just that.
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[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px”] Arthur Wesley Dow’s book, Composition, gives a history through the 19th century. Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield present an exploration as a design principle in their book, Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design. On Dianne’s YouTube channel, take a look at her Quick Tip #44 and #2 .[/typography]
