Post 474: Composition Part 6. The Use of Repeated Elements, Patterns

Composition Part 6. The Use of Repeated Elements, Patterns

Part 6 of 21 of my series on Composition

We humans just love looking at and for patterns and repetitions wherever we can find them. Compositions can be made quite powerful using color, shapes, lighting, and other options with repeated elements. When composing your art, you may only need to shift to the left or right, up or down to change the perspective of the pattern but in photography especially, look for variations in your angle to capture the patterns and repetitions.

There is a symmetry in repetition that is very powerful when captured correctly. Repetitions can occur naturally or be man-made. It is said that man-made repetitions are easier to spot than the ones made by nature. Sometimes you need to zoom in to see the patterns, but often, they are there.

The human eye sees these patterns and repetitions and tries to process them. To group them, to count them - it's what we do. We like order.

Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash

Types of Repetitive Patterns:

• Color Repetition
• Shapes
• Opposing Patterns
• Abstract Patterns 
• Organic Patterns
  

A few notes on repetition and pattern:

• Element repetition creates a pattern.
  
• Repetition patterns cannot exist without at least three repetitions - more is better, odd numbers are best.
  
• Try zooming in on the repetition and fill the frame (or canvas)
• Or try to break the pattern, with either some extra space, or an unexpected pop of color 
• Architectural images lend themselves easily to patterns.

Here is a good article on Patterns and Repetition in Composition for more info on this subject. On this subject. On this subject.

This is part of a series of blog posts on the guidelines, or rules of composition. Look for all of them in the Search this Blog feature at the top right by searching for the word "composition". I hope you enjoy the posts!

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Author: Donna Liguria  is the Blogmaster for Donna's Cave Paintings and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, VA. Donna specializes in acrylic paintings of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art.

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