Nancy C's Sweetest Hearts!

My Heart. Their Heart.

Symmetrical or near symmetrical balance:

My intent with this heart was to create a picture with a heart in it. This photograph is the art, not a picture of the art work. Of course it isn’t about my (lack of) skills with a camera. It’s about setting a scene. Composition, then? My dogs aren’t in the way of the picture—they are the picture. They are as crucial to the picture as the heart is. With this in mind, I tried to have them sit opposite each other to offer balance to the picture. Alas, all I could manage was an around-the-neighborhood-of-symmetrical shot. I am not bold enough to call it near symmetrical. Maybe near, near symmetrical.

Specific theme:

I entitled this picture My Heart. Their Heart. because these two kids are my heart—they are everything to me. Their heart? Food. Food is everything to them. Playing is a close second. When play can involve food, they’re in heaven. The two large orange balls are hollow (you can see their hole in the pic). This is so I can fill them with Cheerios, and the girls can roll them around the floor and pick up the dropping cereal. Is it just because I know them, or can you sense their intense focus on those Cheerios, regardless of not seeing their faces? I assure you, they are focused—intensely. When I refuse to refill the orange balls for the umpteenth time, they’ll compromise with a tennis ball.

Specific color relationship- name it (monochromatic, secondary triad etc):

This is a monochromatic picture: Sidney is ginger, just like the floor. The two treat balls are another orange. The tennis balls are more yellow than green. Maggie and the Cheerios are neutral.

Can yellow and orange be said to be monochromatic? Maybe not, since orange is a secondary color, spawning from red and yellow. In that case, this is a warm composition.

If one is concerned that the tennis balls, in fact, look too green to dismiss, then the composition is warm with cool accents.

Variety of media (4 or more different things):

Treat balls

Tennis balls

Maggie

Sidney

Cheerios

Floor

Nikon D40

Interesting background that relates to the theme:

It just occurred to me that background may mean the “story” behind the work and not the physical background. For the story, see “symmetry” and “specific theme” entry.

Craftsmanship (neat):

No fine motor skills were needed in this work—only patience from all parties involved (no humans were injured during the production of this shoot).

Complicated design:

No, it is not a complicated design, but I wouldn’t quite say it’s a boring one despite its simplicity. Simple—sure. And yet, there’s plenty of variety. I think it’s a baby-bear-fit for the eyes: not too much for the eyes to unpack; not so little that a glance is all that’s required; it’s just right.

Repetition:

Balls, Cheerios, drooling mouths.

Rhythm:

It could be said there is rhythm in the tennis balls. Otherwise, I don’t know—I’d say it’s pretty static, no? The girls were rendered motionless in what I can only imagine was a mix of awe at seeing so many Cheerios and terror that if they took their eyes off them the spell would be broken and the pile of treats would vanish. The rhythm, then, is in the tennis balls or there’s none at all, I think.

Focal point or emphasis:

The implied lines of the girls noses lead the eyes to the heart. The bright orange balls definitely draw attention; their bright pop of color and interruption of the tennis ball pattern is the emphasis.