Golden Ratio


Piedra Lumbre

Piedra Lumbre II, 15x24, oil


The Piedra Lumbre (shining stone) painting has a proportion that is approximately the golden ratio - or the golden mean, an irrational number, approximately 1.610287...., meaning continuing without end.  As an irrational number it cannot be expressed as a ratio of two integers.  

I’ve done many paintings, with 10x16 dimension and a few at 15x24, and this 15x24, still with a ratio of 10/16 or 5/8. Note that these are two number in the Fibonacci sequence.  1,1,2,3,5,8, .... The radio of two consecutive numbers gets closer and closer to the golden mean as we progress through the sequence.  Try calculating: 
5/3, 8/5/ 13/8, 21/13,...

The golden mean is related to the golden spiral, a form found in nature everywhere since it in fact represents how growth takes form (think sunflowers, ferns, tree branches, Nautilus Shell). The ratio is thought to be the most pleasing to the eye, perhaps because it is so pervasive and perhaps because it is natural (more on this in other posts to be written yet perhaps).

Santa Fe River Turbulence

Another painting with the golden proportions is the Santa Fe River Turbulence. I very consciously composed this painting using the design element of a golden spiral, laying out the main rocks in a spiral.  The spiral culminated in the golden mean point of the rectangle, at the waterfall. The waterfall area has the highest contrast of light against dark and is the focal point of the painting. I was honored and thrilled that it won an award as indicated at a Plein Air Painters of Colorado Juried Exhibition. 



"Santa Fe River Turbulence", 10x16, oil.


Award presented at the opening show for the 2016 Plein Air Artists of Colorado Annual Show at the Mary Williams Gallery in Boulder, Colorado.



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