Direction, a few definitions:

1. A course on which something is moving or is aimed to move or along which something is pointing to or facing. Think compass, also opposite direction.
2. A way that leads to your best track to arrive at your destination. Think GPS.
3. Guidance or supervision of action or conduct. Think of instructions or a recipe.

Let’s step back and consider Design as a family. The parents of our Design family are Element and Principle. These two have many children. And as families often do, the children’s tendencies tend to lean towards one parent or the other. Children often play together and have their favorites. Direction is our last and often the least underestimated child of Element and Principle. Direction is the shy, often hidden child compared to the bolder and more rambunctious siblings, Color and Value. Direction is closely tied to Line and Shape, and we find Direction influencing Line and Shape quite significantly. Direction is often found playing with Movement and Rhythm, two principles we’ll discuss later.

We mentioned briefly in Edges as to the direction your shape’s edges blend into another shape; edges can and often do aid in the eye’s direction.

Direction can’t really be taken as a stand-alone design element. We’ll always have Shape and Line to strengthen Direction’s ability to capture and move the eye. As any artist paints, the direction of their mark making helps lead the eye along that same movement in which it was made. The rhythm is the intervals between the shapes.

Momentum

The speed at which these marks are made often translates as the same energy and emotion the artist had when creating. This momentum carries across and influences the size of shapes, the direction, and even the edges with other shapes, all to aid the eye in the speed of movement. Big slow strokes in one direction aid the viewer in moving along in that direction slowly. Small quick strokes in one direction also provide movement, but with more energy and emotion.

To show direction in action, here are a few artists that use direction well. We can see the influence of direction in many successful paintings.

Please visit their websites and explore their powerful work. As you see their work, be mindful of how your eye travels through and into and around each piece. Explore the sizes and shapes of their marks. Be mindful of how powerful and skillful direction is being used. If you are grabbed by any of their work. Reach out and buy one or two pieces.

Michael Cane http://www.michaelcaneart.com from Geneva, IL

Tara Will https://www.tarawill.com from Westminster, MD

Enjoy these three oil paintings from Michael Cane and pay attention to how your eye is influenced by his Design’s Direction.

Michael Cane – ‘Frozen in Static’ Oil on Canvas 24×30 Sunrise on Fox River.       

Look at the shapes he uses, all are a variety of sizes and shapes. He uses Inertia, or the speed of his shapes, to gradually slow us down as we approach his center of interest.

Michael Cane – ‘Morning Has Broken’ 16×20 oil on canvas

Look at the energy and Rhythm (Intervals between marks) of his shapes.

His rhythm, beat, or tempo of the marks made, as it relates to previous marks, is what makes his paintings sing in his unique voice. Look also at any of Vincent Van Gogh’s work for the same energy of mark making.

 Michael Cane – ‘The Wavering Line’  Geneva, Illinois 22×30 oil on canvas

This beautiful piece takes our eyes on a wonderful journey. Notice how Line and Shape play so well with Direction. Refer back to the post on Line at the beginning of this series. Look for spirals and how spiral lines depict expansion or contraction. His leading lines bring us in. The contracting lines keep us moving and locked into his scene. He gently gives us an exit only through the painting. Each shape is placed with the thought of how this mark made relates to the whole painting and to its neighboring shape. Each shape feels like it feeds off the energy and momentum of the next shape. He brilliantly uses a variety of size, value, and color to create the illusion of depth into the scene. But his mastery of Direction is what connects us, the viewers, to his passion and love for his scenes.

Tara Will is a pastel artist doing incredible work. These three paintings show clearly how Direction is used to move the eye in, around, and through the painting.

Tara Will – ‘Laundry Light’ – Pastel

This is a wonderful example of using leading lines and shapes to point us to and reward us for the journey to the red towels on the line. She’s using curved lines and direction of shadow shapes to return us to the center of interest

Tara Will – Last Night in Sedona 25×19 Pastel

The energy and direction of lines and shapes in this one is incredible. Her ground planes are solid and firm. The joy and energy is up where the play of tree branches masks the vibrating mountain colors and sky shapes in the distance. The light and energy in Sedona are magical. The direction and rhythm of her marks capture this mystic scene so well.

Tara Will – Oregon 38×40 Pastel

In all of Tara’s work you will find a journey. Her use of Direction as one design element is key to achieving this journey. I too have witnessed Tara painting; when she paints, she lays down her marks with confidence and certainty. If you engage with her marks, the viewer is rewarded with a transference of her courage to yourself. You are left feeling like you’ve been there and experienced the adventure.