The design principle of unity is the harmony of the elements of a piece of art that helps all the elements function together. In other words it's the visual linking of the elements. A great way to achieve a sense of unity is repetition. Any design element can be repeated -- line, color, shape, texture, direction, etc -- to create harmony. Repetition in odd numbers is very pleasing and is often used in good designs.
Can you spot the repetition of elements in the above art journal page? There are three circles on the vine, all in blue that help bring this page together. The textured background is scattered around the page with three main areas. Hand drawn flowers also adorn the page creating that sense of unity.
Do you see the repetition in this layout? The quatrefoil stencil is repeated on the background using three colors (pulled from the photo) to give it that dynamic pop. Stamped dates/numbers are repeated alongside the photo as well as creating the repetition of black around the page. There are five sequins on the page and that circle shape is repeated in the flair and splatters.
This piece just scream repetition. The grid rub-ons are repeated on the background as well as on some of the smaller canvases. Color is repeated throughout this piece. Take for example the aqua blue, you can find it on the top 4x4 panel, the dress form canvas, and the metal heart, drawing your eye around the canvas. Butterflies, tags, numbers, gears, flowers, texture, shape, etc are all repeated creating unity in the piece.
When working with multiple canvases, i tend to use three. Lots of repetition here as well. Nature is repeated in all three canvases as well as color. Yes the canvases are three different colors but the colors are repeated in the other canvases. The red in the top canvas is pulled into the middle canvas in three repeating circles. The yellows and reds from the top two canvases are repeated in the butterflies on the bottom canvas. And the blue from the bottom canvas is found in the leaf on the top canvas, another repeating element. There is lots more repetition in this piece, can you spot it all?
Last month, i did a blog post about layouts using grids. it's an easy way to repeat elements. This is a variation of a gridded layout using repetition of circles. Colors, shapes, and words are all repeated here. Stamps are another way to include repetition into your creations. Take a look at this post over at CreateMixedMedia, that shares a step-out from my book Art of Layers, to see how to incorporate repetition of stamps.
Have you created something this week? Anything goes...an art journal page, doodle, scrapbook page, card...just something creative. Share a link at the bottom of this post with the inLinkz button. Just leave a link to a specific blog post or image on flickr, rather than a general url. This way we can see your stellar creation.
