BALANCE:
As a basic principle of art, balance refers to the ways in which the elements (lines, shapes, colors, textures) of a piece are arranged. Balance doesn't necessarily mean symmetry. Asymmetrical balance occurs when elements are placed unevenly in a piece, but work together to produce harmony overall. They are not exact but counterbalanced with contrasts such as dull and bright colors, dark with light values, geometric with organic shapes, active and inactive areas.
Example 1:
This artwork is a perfect example of symmetrical balance made by Melanie Weider, an artwork called “Passion of the earth #4”. A piece of art where balance is the principle of art mostly used with shape, color and even texture. We can interpret it as the earth, with the artwork being round, the four seasons shown with different colors, designs, shapes and the sun at one side of the circle with the moon at the other.
Example 2:
The face is one example to easily find balance, in this piece of art made by Kimberly Santini we see a dogs face all made with different tones of blue, whites, blacks and oranges for the bone that’s on the nose. We can see balance in the eyes, nostrils and bone. The reason why these are seen as balance is because we can see there are two of each, and in the bone we can notice it has the same end as if it were heart shaped. This type of balance is called symmetrical balance where there is an identical shape or color at the opposite side.
Example 3:
In this beautiful picture taken by an unknown photographer, we find an example of asymmetrical balance. In this scenery we can see a very dramatic and colorful sky, with balance seen in color by a combination of the colors blue, orange, yellow and white. While in the ground, we can see the scene with only the color black, a group of camels walking in line towards what looks like a castle. It is interpreted as asymmetrical balance due to the fact that as seen, neither the camels nor the palace are identical to the ones next to them, but are very similar.
DRAWING:
In this drawing that I made, I focused myself in doing an example of asymmetrical balance by making a girls hair with a ribbon. In a very simple way I tried to make the hair by not doing it exactly the same on both sides, but very alike. As seen, the braid and ribbon are not identical from both sides; some parts are bigger than the others creating asymmetrical balance. With only the different tones used in the hair done with pencil and the different tones of pink in the ribbon, I created balance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Esaak, Shelley. "Balance." About.com Art History. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://arthistory.about.com/cs/glossaries/g/b_balance.htm>.
2. Gauguin, Paul. "Principles of Design: Balance." Principles of Design: Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/cgdt/balance.htm>.
3. Weider, Melanie. "Listen for Joy - Art Gallery - Passion of the Earth 4: Balance." Listen for Joy - Art Gallery - Passion of the Earth 4: Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://listenforjoy.com/art/passion4-balance.html>.
4. "Balance." Fine Art America. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://fineartamerica.com/featured/balance-kimberly-santini.html>.
5. "Selena: Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, & Radial." Selena: Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, & Radial. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://selenasimed.blogspot.com/2012/08/golden-ratio-rule-of-thirds-symmetrical.html>.
2. Gauguin, Paul. "Principles of Design: Balance." Principles of Design: Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/cgdt/balance.htm>.
3. Weider, Melanie. "Listen for Joy - Art Gallery - Passion of the Earth 4: Balance." Listen for Joy - Art Gallery - Passion of the Earth 4: Balance. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://listenforjoy.com/art/passion4-balance.html>.
4. "Balance." Fine Art America. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://fineartamerica.com/featured/balance-kimberly-santini.html>.
5. "Selena: Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, & Radial." Selena: Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, & Radial. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://selenasimed.blogspot.com/2012/08/golden-ratio-rule-of-thirds-symmetrical.html>.