Sacred Geometry: A Primer

This week, the quadriagon. Start with a square as usual.

Find the center of the square.

From that point arc from the corner of the square to the opposite corner.

Extend your lines to the top point of the arc and finish it off.

Piece of the Week

This piece of the week is from the Hex series, I saw a picture of this design on a youtube slideshow about the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. The design was done on colored paper and was just a line drawing but I've loved it and been playing around with it.

Watercolor

9x9in

2012

Series: Hex

Genesis

In Genesis an account is given of how God created the earth. In reading the account my interest was captured by how simply such complicated processes were described and I felt inspired to illustrate the account for myself and create a better picture of the events. For a time I struggled with how to visualize such lofty and well known material so I looked to the work of several artists including Dürer, Michelangelo, and da Vinci. Though my style significantly differs from the styles of those artists, I did follow their examples and use of symbolism and geometry in the composition of my work. The watercolors in this series are all square; the square is the most basic and diverse of the geometric shapes and it is also symbolic of the earth, I feel that such incorporation of symbolism and geometry enriches the work.

This is a trip through the series as it currently stands. The first piece I made for this series, taken from Genesis 1:1-2 and Abraham 4:2. The color red is a symbol of the earth, as is the square, blue and circles symbolize heaven.

Genesis I

watercolor

9x9in

2012

Series: Genesis
Photo by Hawkinson Photography

Tools of the Trade

Pens and nibs, I don't use them much but they can offer a wide range of line qualities, also mine are dirty...

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

Today, how to make a spiral, there are several ways to make spirals, this is just one. I learned this from a book by Albrecht Durer, The Painter's Manual, I believe.
Start with a straight line and mark off increments. This spiral works around two points which I've labeled A and B.

Set your compass to the distance between A and B with the stationary point on A. Arc the compass until you reach the line again.

Next set the stationary point of the compass on B and set your compass until it lines up where the spiral leaves off. Arc the line until it returns to the horizontal line.

With the compass back on point A set the compass again to where the spiral leaves off.

Repeat on B and until the spiral is as big as you want.

To finish the spiral you can continue on the the same point after crossing the horizontal line.

Piece of the Week

This is a piece from Genesis, I used the spiral for the first time, I'd see diagrams on how to make the spiral but it took some additional figuring to figure how to actually draw it. The picture of the whale that I modeled this after was so beautiful.

In the Deep

watercolor

9x9in

2012

Series: Genesis

Tools of the Trade

An essential tool for any drafts-person or just anyone who uses a compass a lot, is extra compass lead. Sadly, compass lead doesn't stay sharp forever and it reduces your accuracy when it gets dull, so new sharp lead is a great thing to have.