Lines in Art, Exploring Mark Making

I am ending the year with the beginning of an exploration into line and its relationship to mark making. Here are a few of the basics that underlie what I know about traditional concepts of line. I know it’s simplified but I needed to start somewhere.

The diagonal line displays a strength and intensity and suggests elements like depth and movement. On a picture plane these dynamic features attract the viewer’s eye.
To create a static or immobile sense of structure you would turn to horizontal or vertical lines.
When you use these types of line in concert, creating a linear composition, you find using small amounts of diagonals will offset any large application of horizontals and verticals.

There is also the creation of curved and straight lines to take into consideration. If you are looking for a dynamic feel that supports a sense of depth you will turn to the naturalistic curve with its inherent emotional characteristic. If you are looking for something with less contrast that stands strong yet passive look for straight lines. They can provide what you need to create a structure that holds a picture plane in place.

(noun) – A line is a basic element of art, referring to a continuous mark, made on a surface, by a moving point.

A line is long relative to its width. It can define a space, create an outline or pattern, imply movement or texture and allude to mass or volume. It is absolutely essential in creating art, the line.

So now that we have all this we’ll look at what I’ve started to examine. I did not move a point to create a line. I created a space that represented a moving point. I did this by creating a 3 dimensional line placed on the surface. I then painted over it with what was essentially a 2 dimensional line and then removed or deconstructed the original line. These new lines, shapes and space now exist in relation to a negative space that was created behind the lines.