Sear's Golden Section Grid
One of the unique qualities of the Golden Section is its reciprocal attribute. It seemed like a natural extension to overlay it transparently to make a grid. I draw this Golden Section grid on the painting surfaces before the image develops. Following is the method I used for the painting Melt.
I have been exploring elements of the Golden Section in some of my recent work. The Golden Section is a mathematical representation of harmonic ratios found in the natural world. We generally associate the Section or Golden Mean with the ancient Greeks, but the use of the proportion predates that cultural period. I use its ratio and related harmonics as visual markers in my layouts. Its universal quality of harmony and strong relation to our natural world sustains my interest in this idea.
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For the painting Dissolution, four Golden Rectangles are superimposed on top of each other providing points of reference for the layout. The first rectangle with the spiral is colored coded blue; the red spiralrepresents the reverseorientation; green and yellow represent Golden Sections upside down (without the spiral illustrated). The imagery of silos and trees lie between the two horizontals that are created by this grid.
Layer 1 - Golden Section with Golden Spiral
Layer 2 - Mirror Image of the first Section (blue)
Layer 3 - The upside down of the first (red) Section but without the Spiral.
Layer 4 - Last Section is placed (yellow).
The four layers of the Golden Section transposed on top of each other is illustrated below on the painting Melt. I use this system and variations in nearly all of my recent work.
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▲ Dissolutionwith artist’s overlay of Golden Section Grid