There is always math to deal with. You can't center objects without having to get out the tape measure and even taking it steps further. A great example of what i'm talking about is the process that I've written about on a painting that I named 4 Spheres. Below is how I accomplished centering four spheres that have had sections cut away from them.
Final Painting - My Objective
This is the piece that I woke up with in my head one morning.
First Stage - Rough Placement
The first stage for an artist is 'seeing it' in our heads. Okay, we know what we want but in order to accomplish it in the correct way, we are going to have to do some math.
Second Stage - Guidelines
Here are the guidelines that I calculated in order to achieve the goal.
The canvas is 4 feet by 2 feet. The center line was easy. I measured the canvas from top to bottom and divided it by two. (the red arrows) I took a piece of string and attached it to the back of the canvas on both sides and created a physical center line.One foot on the bottom and one foot on the top.
The yellow arrows were the distance I wanted to have dividing the spheres and they would have to be closer together than from the side. So I calculated one inch between them. Each sphere would be 8 inches so 8x4=32. Adding the 3 inches dividing the spheres equaled 35 inches. With the width being 48 inches I had this equation 48-35=13. I wanted equal sides from the left and right. 13 divided by 2 is 6.5 inches.
From here I was able to put the vertical strings in their proper place to guide me. I stapled them on the back of the canvas and draped them over the canvas. So at one point, I actually had strings going over the canvas to guide me in centering the spheres so it looked like the above illustration without the arrows.
Third Stage - Centering the Circles
As an artist, it is good to be resourceful. I had some cheap plastic plates that were 8 inches in diameter. I laid them on top of the strings and made sure they were centered. I drew a very light line all the way around all four of the spheres.
Forth Stage - Plates
I took the four plastic plates and cut each one up a little differently. So you know, I cut away the dark section and the lighter section was something I added in later.
Fifth Stage - Shapes to Paint
I carefully wiped the lines that I no longer needed and began to paint in the areas that were left. Ultimately, I knew that the spheres were perfectly centered in the middle of the canvas and that my goal had been achieved. Even with the negative space cut away, your eye can still see how they all fit perfectly.
Final Painting
This is the final piece titled appropriately, 4 Spheres. You can see how math is used in art. I have more pieces that have required math, many of them found in my Cubism galleries here on my site.
This piece has hung in offices, shows and has been used as the cover of a music CD put out about a year later after its creation. More information, along with the cover design for the music CD can be found here.
