Composition: The Use of Repeated Elements, Patterns
Part 6 of my series on Composition
We humans just love looking at and for patterns and repetitions wherever we can find them. Compositions can be made quite powerful using color, shapes, lighting, and other options with repeated elements. When composing your art, you may only need to shift to the left or right, up or down to change the perspective of the pattern but in photography especially, look for variations in your angle to capture the patterns and repetitions.
There is a symmetry in repetition that is very powerful when captured correctly. Repetitions can occur naturally or be man-made. It is said that man-made repetitions are easier to spot than the ones made by nature. Sometimes you need to zoom in to see the patterns, but often, they are there.
The human eye sees these patterns and repetitions and tries to process them. To group them, to count them - it's what we do. We like order.
Types of Repetitive Patterns:
- Color Repetition
- Shapes
- Opposing Patterns
- Abstract Patterns
- Organic Patterns
A few notes on repetition and pattern:
- Element repetition creates a pattern.
- Repetition patterns cannot exist without at least three repetitions - more is better, odd numbers are best.
- Try zooming in on the repetition and fill the frame (or canvas)
- Or try to break the pattern, with either some extra space, or an unexpected pop of color
- Architectural images lend themselves easily to patterns.
Local Art: Visit us at Clearbrook Center of the Arts at Tackett's Mill in Lake Ridge, VA on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 – it’s free to see the artwork! Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership
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An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.
