How to create pictorial space in painting

This is an article written by my good friend, Krishna Yana Stamboel , a promenient architect and artist. In this article, Krishna will tell us more about his opinon on how to create pictorial space.
See the works by Krishna  Click here 

Efforts to create pictorial space in painting

Painting, as in architecture, has similarity in its importance to create space. In architecture, we create space to accommodate the functional activity for people to live in, while in painting, space is created for the subjects to ‘live’ in. Both create spaces by using analogical principal in organizing and arranging the elements of art (lines, shapes, forms, colors, textures etc.) with a different medium of expression. Both reflect the senses and emotions of the designers or artists.  

For a designer or an architect, a lot of functional and practical constraints sometimes influence the end result. It differs, however, for an artist or a painter, who can choose his/her own framework.  But even without these constraints, the freedom for a painter in creating pictorial space is not always easy.  In fact, it is incredibly difficult because of the complexity in organizing all the elements of art in the scope of design principles (balance, harmony, rhythm, proportion etc.).  

In my painting, I try to create pictorial space (a non-physical space) or a sense of three-dimensional space by placing forms in a way that each has a related ‘opposite’ that creates ‘tension’ among them, so that an overall balance and unity can be felt. Also, in my painting, I always make the lines or forms fluid to create a sense of movements for the subject, which do not necessarily imitate reality. 

Wild horse. I try to depict the struggle of a wild horse to remain free by climbing a rocky mountain (her living space) to avoid being captured, with a creek shown in the distance to reflect the depth of the cliff and the enormous space surrounding her.  

Violinist

The curlicue lines and planes, besides giving a sense of movement, also form spaces which emanate the violinist from the two dimensional canvas. 

The pianist

The elastic form of the piano gives a sense of rhythm and aggressiveness of the pianist. The curlicue colored lines balanced the irregularities of the deconstructed form. 

Self portrait

In my self portrait, I add colored layer planes to create a sense of depth/space with the yellow plane in front of the face and the black plane at the background 

Conclusion

In painting, I always take into consideration the creation of pictorial space as my main objective although it is a very tough endeavor to achieve. I believe that by expressing pictorial space, it can illuminate the painting as a monumental work of art. 

See related post : Understanding space in painting-pictorial space