Discussion: Principles of design 4: Scale and Proportion

Continuing our discussions on composition and design, this time we will consider the importance of scale and proportion in our paintings. Scale and proportion are often felt through the human body. Life drawing is a discipline to learn the proportions of the human body. Humans placed into landscapes bring a sense of scale to a work.

Essential Preparation:
Look at the videos listed below. How and why do painters exaggerate or minimise scale in their work? What ways other than through the body can we represent scale and proportion? As artists do we want our pictures to be harmonious and in proportion or do we want to play with distortion or exaggeration?

https://youtu.be/mfiRlicVkq4?si=NdTWWKhX1W13s59x Principles of Design: Scale and Proportion 3:58
https://youtu.be/IuGLQc7-WgY?feature=shared 1:46 Scale and Proportion in Art
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wGwUCav8M 3:11 Leonardo Da Vinci Vitruvian Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laWSSkcn8Lg Proportions of a human body 3:29
https://youtu.be/o19flLEi0JY?si=gwxIcaDJXdJRv4D5 4:41 painting figures to size and scale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ_LU8B3xjU 8:51 Distortion in art
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4IO-zk2JW0 12: 07 Create a sense of grand scale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btdZm8m2XoU 1:33 Katherine Bradford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M58oMKBO7S0&t=174s 3:56 Giacometti

If you can, bring along some examples of paintings with interesting uses of scale and proportion. These could be your own pictures and/or the work of other artists, If possible, send links to electronic versions of relevant images for us to discuss. (Please send them a few days in advance to allow time for them to be collated into a slideshow.)

Thanks to Sarah for preparing this topic.