{"id":307,"date":"2009-05-02T22:50:15","date_gmt":"2009-05-03T03:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/?p=307"},"modified":"2014-12-14T21:49:57","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T02:49:57","slug":"negative-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/02\/negative-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Negative Space"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Curl,

Claudia Curl, 2008, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

“Negative space<\/a>” is what we call the parts of the picture around and between the primary subject.\u00a0 In the image above, all the green and blue spaces are negative spaces.\u00a0 Here, because the subject goes beyond all four edges of the paper, and there’s a hollow in the middle, we have a balanced set of five shapes, no two alike.\u00a0 The bright color keeps them optically connected and emphasizes the pattern they form.\u00a0 The drawing below is a similar pose and composition, but the forward bend of the body gives the negative spaces around it a less balanced, more active feel.\u00a0 The hollow formed by the space between the front of the body and the arms and thighs is a more complex kind of negative space, with more distant parts of the body showing through the arch.<\/p>\n

\"Grotto,

Lilli Grotto, 2009, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

Negative spaces can be very useful in figuring out a pose on the page.\u00a0 Doubles poses, for instance, are notoriously challenging to draw.\u00a0 The spatial relationships are not just doubled, they’re multiplied.\u00a0 Here’s an analytical sketch of a doubles pose.\u00a0 You’ll notice an overall framing shape, lines showing the angular relationships between various points, and carefully delineated negative spaces, not just between the two bodies, but also between the contours of the bodies and the framing shape.\u00a0 Clearly seeing the negative spaces can help an artist to overcome some of the confusion that comes of trying to see the parts of the body as we think they should be, rather than as they are.<\/p>\n

\"Marianna

Marianna & Emma, 2009, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

Certain poses are challenging to draw because of multiple crossings of limbs, or foreshortening, or because they’re seen from up close or at an unusual angle.\u00a0 Looking at the body itself can be quite confusing in these situations, but the negative spaces are simpler and their spatial relationship is clearer, so we can start from the negative spaces and then fill in the body details.<\/p>\n

\"Stanley

Stanley Folded, 2008, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Jiri

Jiri Twisted, 2009, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

The negative space can be developed to suggest the three-dimensional environment of the model, as in the drawing below, where there is a close vertical plane on the right and a more distant vertical plane on the left.<\/p>\n

\"Theresa

Theresa by Corner, 2009, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

Or the negative space can be elaborated as a sort of complement or mirror of the positive space.\u00a0 In the drawing below, the folds in the fabric become almost biomorphic, reflecting the wrinkles and multiple roundnesses of the twisted feet.<\/p>\n

\"Maria's

Maria's Feet, 2007, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

Clearly seeing negative space is about shifting the focus from presence to absence.\u00a0 Finding the figure by looking at the negative space is one of the many artistic applications of the Hermetic principle “As above, so below” or “As within, so without”.\u00a0 All reality exists on the cusp between interior and exterior, between past and future, or between any polarity you care to examine.\u00a0 To draw is to surf on the points of contact.<\/p>\n

All drawings in this post are aquarelle crayon on paper, 50 x 70 cm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Negative space” is what we call the parts of the picture around and between the primary subject.\u00a0 In the image above, all the green and blue spaces are negative spaces.\u00a0 Here, because the subject goes beyond all four edges of the paper, and there’s a hollow in the middle, we have a balanced set of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[207],"tags":[133,19,17,44,22],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-figure-drawing-poses","tag-art-modeling","tag-crayons","tag-figures","tag-nudes","tag-technique"],"yoast_head":"\nNegative Space - DRAWING LIFE by fred hatt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/02\/negative-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Negative Space - DRAWING LIFE by fred hatt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“Negative space” is what we call the parts of the picture around and between the primary subject.\u00a0 In the image above, all the green and blue spaces are negative spaces.\u00a0 Here, because the subject goes beyond all four edges of the paper, and there’s a hollow in the middle, we have a balanced set of […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/02\/negative-space\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DRAWING LIFE by fred hatt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-05-03T03:50:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-15T02:49:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/fredhatt-2008-03-22-claudia-1a.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"fred\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"fred\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/02\\\/negative-space\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/02\\\/negative-space\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"fred\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c298e6b4be9e8bbc43ff45acb35fcc76\"},\"headline\":\"Negative Space\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-03T03:50:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-15T02:49:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/02\\\/negative-space\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":576,\"commentCount\":7,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/02\\\/negative-space\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/fredhatt-2008-03-22-claudia-1a.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Art Modeling\",\"Crayons\",\"Figures\",\"Nudes\",\"Technique\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Figure Drawing: Poses\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/02\\\/negative-space\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/fredhatt.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/05\\\/02\\\/negative-space\\\/\",\"name\":\"Negative Space - 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