Pattern and Repetition in Art

I'm inspired by the paisley and floral pattern in my wife's checkbook cover by designer Vera Bradley. Repetition of line, shape or color can be decorative, add harmony, or create movement or rhythm in a composition. Artists use repetition and pattern to create interest in their paintings. Patterns can be natural or organic, geometric, regular vs. irregular, or man-made.  It's also fun to doodle using Zentangles to create your own unique patterns. And, yes, there is organized doodling!

Sunflower Center

Natural or organic patterns may be found in nature, including symmetries, spirals, and fractals, often explained by mathematical principles. Some examples are the spiral of the exterior or interior of a seashell, flowers or the center of a sunflower, and the fur of animals such as leopards' spots. A pineapple is a natural example of a tessellation.

Broadway Boogie-Woogie (1942-43), Mondrian

Irregular patterns are used in the abstract art of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. I used this example in teaching an art lesson to kindergarteners in which we used colored paper strips to create randomly patterned compositions.

Mondrian-inspired LINE Compositions

Students were limited to the number of strips (5) they could use, but they were allowed to cut them into any number of smaller lengths. They were allowed to overlap to create depth and negative space on the black background. Our discussion was however limited to talking about the art element of LINE. See Kindergarten Art Projects for more ideas.

Diamonds by Victor Vasarely

I tend to use Victor Vasarely and Mark Rothko artwork when teaching about geometric patterns. See my Op & Pop Artists post for more geometric patterns. Such diamond shapes may also help students understand the perspective angles of cubic volumes.

My 5th-graders created their own Op Art using carefully woven strips of contrasting colored paper and wavy lines. These were my own examples.

Metamorphosis II (1939-40), Escher

Although more organic, Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher famously created patterns, tessellations and optical illusions. His tessellations are really impressive, such as Metamorphosis II. One direction has birds, while the other has fish.

I love Escher's staircases, which remind me of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I wonder if his work inspired J.K. Rowling. 

Another category of patterns is man-made, which may be found in brick walls (~tessellations), buildings, and other architectural elements. I also enjoy seeing wallpaper patterns, though it is a bygone style of interior design that is often considered old-school.

Shantavia Beale II (2012), Wiley

I am in awe of the portraits painted by African American artist Kehinde Wiley. He uses natural and floral patterns as backgrounds for his beautiful portraits. This portrait is from his New Republic Exhibition, which I visited at the Seattle Art Museum in 2016. He has also painted portraits of the Obamas.

Floral Study in Gold (1907), Klimt

Austrian Symbolist Gustav Klimt used pattern to decorate his canvases, often surrounding figures of women and couples like Wiley does today. The spiral symbols evoke the Zentangles of today. His golden phase lasted from 1901-09. His favorite model was Adele Bloch-Bauer, much like Helga Testorf was for Andrew Wyeth. 

Andy Warhol, American Pop and Visual Artist, began his portfolio series on the subject of Marilyn Monroe in 1967, in which he repeatedly used the same publicity photo image of the iconic actress. While visiting the Palm Springs Museum of Art (PSAM) in 2018, Warhol's work was being exhibited there. Only the color scheme was varied.

Dessert: Harmony in Red (1908), Matisse

My favorite artist who successfully used pattern is French Fauvist, Henri Matisse. See my 2020 post entitled, Top 15 Paintings that Use Primary Colors -- Red, Yellow, and Blue. Notice how the tablecloth blends into the wallpaper in the background. Now that's taking a decorative element too far! I like it, but imagine living with that red on the walls of your home. You'd always be hungry!

Praising Budding Artists for Their Work

Words of encouragement go a long way to inspiring young artists. “Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.” - Alexander Osborn

For example, "I love the way you...", or "Your style amazes me." is a great starting point. Get people talking about their art and have them practice talking about the work of other artists. "What do you like about it?" "Why did you choose this color combination?" Use art vocabulary, explaining how their choice of complementary or contrasting colors added interest. Besides praising an artist for their own unique style, it might be helpful to compare their work to that of other more famous artists. It also helps to take a picture of your art on your phone. Seeing a photo can change one's point of view away from the canvas you've been staring at for an hour and a half, and that which you've become overly critical.

Making connections with other artists and even the subject matter -- "Your brushstrokes remind me of Van Gogh" or "That reminds me of MY dog" -- are inspiring comments for an artist to hear. Their work is being thoughtfully acknowledged for its content, execution, style, or the feelings it invokes in the viewer.

Two Crabs (1889), Vincent Van Gogh

My family, friends, and colleagues encourage me to do more art. Museums are always stimulating, especially when I discover another Van Gogh painting or see a Rembrandt in person! Flemish artist, Peter Paul Rubens was heavily influenced both artists. Van Gogh was also influenced by his friend, Paul Gauguin, who encouraged him to paint from his imagination, French realist Jean-François Millet, other Impressionists, and Japanese art. Van Gogh painted Two Crabs in 1889 as an experiment in complementary colors inspired by the color theory of Eugène Delacroix.

In May of 2017, I saw it hanging in The National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square.

Emily's Chicken

I wonder if PawsWithCause resident artist, Emily, was inspired by Van Gogh's crabs. Here is her portrait of a chicken in a very similar contrasting color scheme. Amazing! And I love the brushstrokes!!

An art docent needs to understand and become familiar with the elements and principles of visual art.

As time is often limited to an hour and a half, it is important to monitor the progress of the artist's portrait. They need to decide where to start, then begin to lay down paint. If they have a favorite color and are unfamiliar with brushes and the medium, you may suggest starting with the background. Help the novices mix their color in the large space in the center of the palette, making enough to cover the surrounding area. Often, with Seniors especially, the background is left blank. If the body of the subject animal is grey, that too may require mixing lots of that color in the middle of the palette.

One of our seniors spent most of her time outlining the features of her white cat and chose to limit her palette. She simply used black paint to suggest texture on the cat's coat. She carried on and used black for the front paws in shadow. The cat's tail saw the beginnings of Pointillism that had time permitted would have been an awesome technique to finish with. Because there was no paint applied to the background it made for a harmonious somewhat linear composition.

White Angora Cat (1761), Bachelier

Another favorite of mine is this portrait of a white angora cat beautifully (oil) painted by French artist, Jean-Jacques Bachelier. Here we see a cat chasing a butterfly. The cat's fur is well-executed. Though I wouldn't want to have to brush that coat!

All one-color animals, such as white or black cats, or white, brown, or black dogs, are particularly challenging to paint. It may take time to execute the subtle shading (primarily shades of grey). As an art docent I'd recommend doing small areas at a time while the paint is still wet; this is when blending is most successful. Maybe work on the head, then body and legs. Highlights may be added later, as with the back and tail in Bachelier's painting.

Two Cats Blue and Yellow
(1912), Franz Marc

Cats on a Red Cloth (1909),
Franz Marc

20th century German Expressionist Franz Marc captured some cats sleeping or grooming themselves. The first painting is more realistic than his second more expressive Cubist work. Can you find the mouse?

18th century English artist Thomas Gainsborough also studied feline positions of the Great Cat. According to the referenced link, his black-and-white chalk drawing is similar to that of another famous artist from the 15th century.

Apparently, I missed Paul Gauguin's Flowers and Cats (1899) while visiting the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen, Denmark on our cruise to the Baltics in June 2019.

Another recent post, entitled Making Connections with Artists & Animals features the cats of French Fauvist Henri Matisse.

Many of the world's most famous artists kept cats as pets. Here's a list:

Henri Matisse (Minouche, Coussi, and Le Puce); Pierre Bonnard (Cat);

Salvador Dali (Babou); Gustav Klimt (Katze); Georgia O’Keeffe (Siamese); 

Pablo Picasso (Minou); Louis Wain (Peter); Andy Warhol (Sam); and

        Wassily Kandinsky (Vaske)

We lost American artist Laurel Burch in 2007. She was famous for her bold cat designs such as those featured in one of her books, Fantastic Felines (1997). I believe we've done a jigsaw puzzle like this.

by Bill

Many of the artists who paint the shelter animal portraits are seniors who hang out at senior centers or assisted living establishments. One such artist is Bill, whose work is reminiscent of German Expressionist, Max Beckmann. See my post entitled, 'Egyptian Art, Sculpture, and Tombs'.

Another PawsWithCause patron painted this portrait of Cai with a light green tennis ball in its mouth. The artist's style is also like Beckmann, but with more of a Surrealist vibe. The background continues with the lime green color, adding little wispy shapes much like Henri Matisse decorated his red wallpaper in his Fauvist works. The touches of blue add interest to the composition.

You may also appreciate Medford the dog, who is sporting a Dio de Los Muertos mask on his face, reminiscent of the art of Frida Kahlo or Diego Rivera. Spanish Catalan painter Joan Miró often used a black background and Whimsical shapes (like spirals) to create his abstract art with Surrealist fantasy. Notice how the brushstrokes in his blonde fur add a realism that adds an anthropomorphic touch as if the animal is celebrating a human holiday. See Pepe the Dog in my post entitled, Making Connections with Artists & Animals.

Marlee is a good example of Realism. I especially like the artist's use of small, jagged brushstrokes, lending texture to the dog's coat. Happy accidents, like allowing the marker outline (from the original sketch) to show through, accentuate subtle features. I love the impressionistic background which further softens the overall painting. Check out the eyes with different color irises!

This portrait of Emma shows a good example of well-executed shading. The blue-gray color that the artist chose is a beautiful complement to her orangish-brown coat. Her sad eyes and overall color scheme make me think of the melancholy paintings (like "The Scream") of Norwegian Expressionist, Edvard Munch.

Many of our painting sessions, as with many of the art classes I've taught, are often too short for seniors or even younger students to complete a portrait in the allotted time. Although not common for established painters and master artists, some works are intentionally unfinished.

Gilbert Stuart created the Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington that currently hangs in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. The unfinished work was used to paint 130 copies sold for $100 each and for the engraving of GW on the US $1 bill.

The only other unfinished painting I've ever seen is “An Allegory of Virtue”, attributed to Corregio (~1489-1534), which hangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. 

Tips for Creating Landscapes

Photo of the View from the top of Cedar Butte

When painting landscapes, I like to use a reference photo as a guide to help capture atmospheric and realistic detail. You may also find inspiration by painting outdoors (en plen air). Here's a photo I took at the top of Cedar Butte. See my September 2022 post, Painting Using MS Paint 3D -- How To.

My Paint 3D Landscape

I painted the background first, then added foreground elements such as bushes and trees later. For oils and acrylics, you may choose to lay down a darker color for the background and work up in value for the addition of clouds. For pastels, simply start with paper that is already a neutral (not white) color.

Use color temperature to create the illusion of depth. Add opposite colors to either cool down the color of mountains in the background or warm up the trees in the foreground. I chose to lay down bands of color in my background then framed the sky with an outline of the mountains. I chose a cooler purple for my mountains and gradually got warmer toward the foreground. My painting is brighter than the photo. Adding the trees over the background in contrasting dark green (instead of black) continued to elevate the overall temperature.

Bob Ross painting with a cabin

Create a focal point in your in the composition. This can be a barn or small outbuilding (palette knife comes in handy for the texture), or even a large, interesting tree. You may choose to make the barn stand out by using sharp contrast in colors or values and shading for more emphasis. This painting by Bob Ross would be fun to try in pastels.

Another Bob Ross painting using a palette knife
and a two-inch brush

Use the palette knife to add texture and crisp edges, Bob Ross used the edge of his knife to create water lines next to the shoreline and ripples in the water. It also helps create texture on snowy mountains. A large dry brush pulls down paint for the reflection. Then light, side-to-side strokes soften and blend for the illusion of water. His use of temperature in the rainbow-colored sky almost makes his composition like two different paintings.

Jeu and Bryce at Lake Sawyer
(2022), Patterson

Simplify the clutter (edit out unwanted details). Give the illusion of numbers, but don't try to paint every individual tree you see. Map out the overall shapes for the grouping of trees, then add just a few details. This is something that Impressionists like Monet mastered in suggesting a forest or line of trees.

Mary's Creepy Landscape

Try using a limited palette of colors and subtle variations between them. Use brighter, more saturated colors and more delicate brushwork for the focal point (compared to the rest of the painting). This one was done by one of my students at Franke Tobey Jones' Senior University. I'm guessing that the bright moon is the focal point. My favorite part is the turbulent water.

Beach in Pourville (1882), Monet

Embrace imperfection. You don't have to be completely accurate with values, colors, and structure as you would in a still-life or portrait. Impressionists like Claude Monet loved to paint beach scenes, often void of human figures, to create a mood and a soft composition of color. The only real value or shading comes in the cliffs framing the bottom right corner.

Landscape at Collioure (1905), Matisse

Employ timed sketches to improve your judgment. Practice painting on smaller canvases using quick sketches and limiting the time it takes to complete your painting. Famous artists used studies to plan the placement of elements, color scheme, and composition. It may also help you to decide when your painting is finished.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872),
Thomas Moran

Let's finish with this spectacular landscape of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone by Thomas Moran. I love the contrast between the foreground and sunlit canyon. He painted several versions of the canyon, capturing the scenic view in all four seasons.

My brothers and their wives visited Yellowstone recently while attending my daughter's wedding in Montana. Two trees frame the view of the watery focal point in this photograph by my sister-in-law.

Reflections in Art

Landscapes

Reflections (1983), Bob Ross

I found this great article about Landscape Composition: 16 Reflections. Whether it is Sisley, Turner, or Monet painting the landscape, the result is always more pleasant and serene with the addition of a reflection in water to reveal atmospheric conditions. I particularly enjoyed watching Bob Ross' TV series The Joy of Painting, especially when he'd show us how to paint water and reflections. He pulled down color using a large dry brush, then lightly dragged his brush across to soften the reflections.

Le Loing à Moret (1885), Sisley

Impressionist painter, Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), was born to British parents in France, where he spent most of his life. His landscapes may have been inspired by the paintings of J. M. W. Turner and John Constable. I much prefer this softer work to some of his other more intricate landscapes.

Boats (1885), Sisley

While this landscape by Sisley may make a wonderful jigsaw puzzle, it makes for a very complex painting. His reflections seem to be concentrated toward the bottom, focusing on the subject boats. The clouds reflect in the water in the middle of the composition. The jetty seems to divide the painting in two.

The Studio Boat (1874), Monet

Some say that Sisley's career was overshadowed by that of Franch Impressionist Claude Monet. Monet's Studio Boat became the subject of four of his paintings. The reflections are well done. Monet has also balanced his composition by offsetting the dark boat hull with the large bank of brown autumn trees and highlighting the studio structure. Many of Monet's other works use dark purple in place of black.

The Grand Canal of Venice (1875), Manet

In Édouard Manet's Blue Venice or The Grand Canal of Venice (1875) the reflections are suggested using impressionistic brushstrokes. Like Monet's work above, Manet has atypically used black for his gondola. Everything else in the painting is bright and textured. 

Le Bateau (1953), Matisse

In 1961, Henri Matisse's Le Bateau ("The Boat") was hung upside-down at New York's Museum of Modern Art for 47 days until a patron pointed it out to a museum guard. In this simple papercut and gouache work, it was apparently difficult to distinguish between the sailboat and its reflection.

Starry Night Over the Rhône (1888), Van Gogh

Before Vincent Van Gogh painted his famous Starry Night with the swirling sky and cypress trees, he captured a moment of calm in Starry Night Over the Rhône (1888). I love the reflected lights of the city. The couple in the foreground seem to be standing in the water due to the repetition of the brushstrokes, colors, and subtle transition from water to shore.

Valley of the Yosemite (1864), Bierstadt

German-born American artist, Albert Bierstadt, painted this landscape of the Yosemite Valley in California along the Merced River in 1864. Everything about this masterpiece is amazing! I love the colors of the sky, the brightness of the sunlight reflecting off the mountains, the sliver of reflected trees in the water, and the silhouettes of the deer grazing in the foreground.

Portraits

Triple Self-Portrait
(1960), Rockwell

Some artists used mirrors in their portraits. One of the most recognizable is Norman Rockwell's self-portrait with him seated in front of a mirror and a large canvas capturing his own image three times. I enjoy seeing what he has pinned to his easel, including his own sketches on one side opposite self-portraits of fellow artists: Durer, Rembrandt, Picasso and Van Gogh. Possibly as a nod to Rembrandt, he has collected a golden helmet as a souvenir of a trip to Paris.

 'Self Portrait', from Behind Gala,
Reflected in Mirror (1972), Dali

In 1972, Salvador Dali painted a double portrait of the artist and his muse (wife Gala). It reminds me of an interior, painted by Johannes Vermeer, with light streaming in from a window. It may also be a nod to Diego Velázquez's 1656 masterpiece of Las Meninas, where the King and Queen were subtly reflected in a mirror.

Here, we get to see both figures from the front reflected in a mirror and from the back seated. If only we could see what's on his easel! Notice how Gala's chair is downplayed in both color and value so as not to compete with the artist's chair and mirror frame.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882), Manet

Some say that the man in the upper right of the mirror is Édouard Manet himself in A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882). Artists often hide their self-portraits in their paintings. You don't see the back of the man at the bar because he is perhaps (Manet) the viewer of the bar scene. 

The horizontal blueish band may be the stage. The reflection of the bar itself runs behind the barmaid's hips and may be reflecting the two bottles from the lower left corner.

Girl at Mirror (1954), Norman Rockwell

Finally, here's another painting by Norman Rockwell celebrating the innocence of a young girl checking herself out in an attic mirror while reading a glamour magazine. The girl reminds me of actress Margaret O'Brien who starred opposite Judy Garland in the classic Meet Me in St. Louis ten years earlier.