Blog posts about my paintings and about Dynamic Symmetry workshops conducted at the Bluebird Studios in Santa Fe. The most recent workshops are on Intuitive Composition and Dynamic Symmetry with master artist, Albert Handell. You will also find posts on specific topics such as "overlaying a grid in Photoshop" as well as "Anatomy" of my paintings. Scroll down for posts. Or use the menu icon/Labels or search icon above for labels such as dynamic symmetry, appendix, Photoshop.
Posts
RGAA Dynamic Symmetry Presentation by Karen Halbert Feb 21, 2026
General Overview of Dynamic Symmetry Description, Historic Paintings and Contemporary Paintings, Dynamic Symmetry in Practice. Screenshots of Presentation with some notes. (Enter Full Screen for best viewing). “.. Dynamic Symmetry. .. may be described briefly as the type of symmetry found in a natural organism, in the placing of leaves on a stem, in the architecture of the human body, always suggesting life and movement as opposed to static symmetry which suggests order without the potentiality of change. Mr. Hambidge and others working with him have found that the dynamic type of symmetry was used by the Greeks, who inherited it from the Egyptians and developed it in their art during the classic period with varying degrees of elaboration”—New York Times, Sunday, June 10, 1923 (as quoted In Dynamic Symmetry in Composition by Jay Hambidge pg 53) Dynamic Symmetry can be viewed as a tool. Its versatility may sugg...
iPhones, Tools, Grids and Plein Air Painting
In my quest to learn everything about how we can use an iPhone effectively when setting up for a Plein Air Session, I learned a lot. I hope what I have learned can be as helpful to my readers as it has been for me. I wrote this post while staying in San Diego near my son's house in Jan 2023. I took the photo of the view from the back patio. I just read through the post (Jun 11) and rather then try to perfect it, I think it has enough useful information to publish the post. June 11, 2023: originally published, republished Jan 31, 2026. iPhone Editing/Cropping and Aspect Ratios Tip #1. iPhones automatically take photos at a 9x12 (horizontal) or a 12x9 (vertical) ratio by default but it can be changed (see tip #2). For the WISE Apps' Dynamic Symmetry grids described below use the 3 to 4 OR the 2 to 3 ratio OR a Golden ratio. I have tried to edit a photo to my desired measurements incorrectly. This leads me to .. Tip #2. The edit/crop tool provides a set ...