A Favorite Design Tool
I recently finished a new landscape collage. At 24″ w x 36″ h, this is quite a bit larger than my usual collages. However, I still used some of my favorite construction techniques, and I still used one of my favorite design tools: my digital camera in black & white mode.
There is a saying that “value does the work and color gets the credit” and I feel it’s very often true. I have seen (and sadly, made!) many pieces of art in whatever medium that just don’t sing. While beautiful on the surface, they just don’t grab me. As my critical eye has matured, I have come to realize that this is most often because color and overall placement were attended too, but value was neglected.
To see what I mean, look at the images below. These are of the new collage, taken while I was deciding on where each element would ultimately reside.
See how the different elements blend together in this layout? It was difficult to see it in color, but it’s obvious in the black & white image.
You can see the difference after adding, subtracting, and rearranging components. It’s a much stronger composition.
If you’re feeling stuck on a piece, try this trick and see if it can offer you a new perspective, too!
Oct 26, 2009 @ 13:50:59
I just did this with a quilt of mine. It’s amazing what you can see in the black and white photo that you totally missed in the color one.