Radical Impressionist: A Mathematician Paints

  Harmonic Armature     Basic Dynamic Symmetry Armature Expanded Dynamic Symmetry Armature As I dig deeper into the Dynamic Symmetry Armature I am drawn toward a simpler armature: Harmonic Armature. I studied it early on and liked it but the more mathematical nature of the Dynamic Symmetry grid appealed to me. But for the purposes of demonstrating how one can use an armature to help in one's composition, I appreciate how most non-mathematician artists would prefer to keep it simple, while still adhering to mathematical principles found in the design of nature and art. The complication for the Dynamic Symmetry Armatures is that each one is different depending on the aspect ratio; the reciprocals must be perpendicular to the main diagonals. In the Harmonic Armature the angles between the lines or diagonals are different for each panel proportion, but in fact the divisions are the same (which we will show); four of the intersections are always at the third marks, for example, popular

Introduction: Michel Jacobs, author of a well-regarded work on Dynamic Symmetry, recommends the use of a transparent grid rather than painstakingly drawing the grid on each panel:@1920. Here's a public domain pdf of his dynamic symmetry book: HERE . One point of disagreement with others is that Jacobs emphasizes a principal point of interest (as do I) but others say this is not necessary; the composition as a whole must be used. And it can have many different points of interest. The important point is how they relate to each other and in fact lead to each other. I have a Kindle copy as well as a paperback. Very little math. The main point here is that others have recommended the use of a transparency. These are the 5x7 images I created using photoshop using the 'canvas' sizing to create the 5x7 final result. Right click on an image to download. Unfortunately the downloaded images are smaller. Resize them in Preview to 5 x 7 or in any other jpg viewer you use. You can print