Advanced 3Emphasis and Variety

by Sharon Jeffus Copyright 2015

Edward Hopper did the picture above “Nighthawk”. What is his emphasis? How does he show variety?

“The House by the Railroad” by Hopper is below. Hopper is called the great American realist. What does your eye go to first

in the picture? Do you notice the sky is a darker value at the top? Where does the light fall in the picture?

Print out the Victorian house below and copy Hopper’s colors from “The House by the Railroad.”

In the picture “Hotel Lobby” where do you see variety? Where does the light fall? Practice taking the color blue and seeing how many different

values of blue you see. How many values of blue do you see here?

Hopper did the female on the left and the man on the right. Diagonal lines show movement. Vertical lines show stability.

When you draw people in action, use diagonal lines.

The human adult’s head is seven to eight times the size of his body. Below is Leonardo da Vinci’s proportions of the human

head. Proportion is important.

“New York Restaurant” by Hopper has the red hat centered slightly to the right of center. Diagonal lines show movement.

Which lady looks like she is going to move?

Clara von Sivers Frühlingsblüten created the beautiful picture below. What to you notice about the background? When using

pastels it is good to sometimes use colored paper.

Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen did “ Vase with Flowers.” Working on a dark surface can help you to experience the technique of pastels.

Henri Biva painted this picture of roses. Which rose to you look at first? Do you notice the dark background at the top?

This older perfume advertisement done on black shows variety.

Below is an interesting postage stamp. It incorporates flowers from the country the stamp is from.

You can draw a lily like the one in the stamp step by step. Did you know the lily of the valley has red fruit? That would make a good

center of interest or emphasis.

Frederico Andriotti’s painting “Straw Hat with Poppies” shows us a beautiful lady with poppies on her hat and in her basket. What is the emphasis in the picture? How does the artist show variety?