Positive/Negative Bird

           

            I have really never thought about nor been introduced to the concept of Positive and Negative space. I tend to be a believer in Quantum Physics and am always wondering if the things around me are really what I perceive them to be. So, I must say that this lesson was very interesting for me and even in a way flows along the same path as Quantum Mechanics.

            We were asked to look at a picture up on the screen. “What do you see?” we were asked. Well, I saw two black objects which seemed very flat and were just randomly put there. But, ah hah! Lines were then given to the “empty” space, which sat white and alone, and now we are looking at 3 dimensional objects! Boxes to be exact! Simply adding the connecting lines gave these inadequate objects meaning to the mind now! But, had the objects been there the whole time? Why had I not been able to see them? Answer is, each side of our brains is fighting against each other. Logic, creative, logic, creative. Also, we are so used to only focusing in on the obvious objects around us (Positive space) that we forget to even see the “empty” space (Negative space).  

            So, for the assignment, we were to look at a simple drawing of a bird and a circle, and draw only the Negative space around it. By using simple couture lines and a grid drawn on my paper, I was able to draw out the negative space I saw in the picture. It was a rather simple drawing, but, again we needed to focus on the scale of the picture, and then sizing it to our paper which was much smaller than the original picture. Once we finished the drawing, we were to finish the age by only drawing in the negative spaces. Using a HB pencil, I wanted to do some experimenting with lines, pattern, and value. 

            There are really three different areas in my drawing. The first area consists of the tree, which seems to be hugging the moon. It is swirly and very whimsical. I used short line marks to shade in the sky around the tree and moon. Then, using my fingers, I smudged it up a bit just to make it feel softer. 

         Below it, the bird has almost turned into the earth, seeming more like the dirt space between the tree and the land below. I wanted to use many different size, shape and color shade for the boxes. They seem to overlap each other and almost hang from the earth, under the tree. For me, it is like imagining that the earth above is held up by tons of boxes just piled on top of each other. But then, there is darkness. Which the deeper into the earth’s core it goes, the darker it gets.

     I also felt the need to use circular motion in my drawing. So, to go along with the fantasy scheme I wanted to used miniature spirals up in what I almost think of as the clouds in the sky, which seem to be more like bubbles.

            What I am taking away from this assignment, is to stop and see the usually unseen, negative space. I now look around places and try to figure out the negative space in pictures and even in reality. Though I had some fun with this drawing, I think that the drawing itself expresses a bit on the subject of negative space.