Artists learn to lead the eye exactly where they want it.And not only that, they lead it in a manner that is pleasing, not demanding.For example, picture a country cottage in a wooded setting. It has a straight,diagonal path leading to the door. Now thats one way to lead the eye to go tothe cottage! However, straight lines can appear rigid and severe. A professional artist would know that the painting would be more effective and pleasing to the eyeif the path were winding, with perhaps two or three crooks in the path.
Artists always improve upon Mother Nature. But dont getalarmed. You need look no farther than your own garden to realize that MotherNature isnt always perfect. Sometimes she makes little boo boos. If you have agarden with blooming flowers, chances are, you had to pull out Mother Naturesweeds in order to have a pleasing sight!
Lines are powerful, not only in paintings, but in all oflife. As you have learned, straight lines suggest rigidity. Squares, on theother hand, contain many sharp edges and can suggest not only sharpness butstumbling blocks as well. The eye must stop abruptly and continue in anotherdirection when examining a square. Circles and other lines with circularitysuggest ease and fullness. The eye flows over circular lines. People who doodlein circular movements are more fluid and easygoing than those who draw rigid,angular lines.
Square-tipped fingernails have been in fashion lately. Longnails that are perfectly manicured are meant to suggest refinement andfemininity, but square-tipped nails subtly contradict this message. The sharpedges of the nails subtly and subliminally suggest a certain sharpness. Nailsthat are rounded are much more pleasing to the eye. Lastly, the hardness ofsquare nails is further augmented with the use of too-dark nail polish thatnearly looks black. The overall effect can actually be quite scary.
We can extend this idea of square lines being hard to thehuman face. A square jaw in a man is admired. It suggests strength of characterand body. One of the first changes with young boys at puberty is with the shapeof the jaw line. It changes from the soft roundness of a boy to the angularityof a man. Girls at puberty do not experience this kind of dramatic change.Instead, they shed their baby fat appearance and emerge as a young woman witha chiseled face. A hard, square jaw line on a woman is said to needcamouflage, but the same jaw line on a man is admired.
Every now and then shoe designers bring back the square-toedshoe for both men and women. As you may have guessed, it is not a good idea.However, in the fashion industry, change is all about a new fashion trendreplacing an old one. Increased sales, rather than looking better, is themotivation most often. Most of us dont want to wear dated styles, so we throwout the old and get the new. Unfortunately, womens feet look clumsy and largerin square-toed shoes. And chunky, square heels are nearly as bad. Especiallythe ones that are tapered in reverse and are larger at the bottom. They alsosuggest a certain clumsiness. Mens shoes dont fare any better. Neither toesnor feet are square, and square-toed shoes simply look clumsy. When it comes toshoes, dont be square!
But what about the popular shoes with pointed toes? They donot make the feet look clumsy, only longer. Interestingly enough, they onlycause the feet to be judged big when they are worn in flat-heeled versions.The long line is broken with high heels, and the feet do not appear big. Feetthat are very wide are judged to be big. Traditionally, wide feet wereassociated with shoeless peasants and slim feet with more refined people whowore shoes.
Everything is relative when it comes to lines. If you have atoo-round face or a few extra pounds you would like to camouflage, you can addangular lines to suggest less fullness or roundness. A jacket or top with aV-neck would be better than one with a round neckline, for example. On theother hand, if you have a pointy chin, you want to steer clear of a V-neckblouse or jacket.
And for the male readers of Tidewater Women, think about thechoice of patterns that you choose for your ties. Some can be quite jarring.Small round polka dots are much more pleasing than lots of little squareblocks, for example. Dont be square!
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