Contrast, Balance, Harmony:

I hesitated adding one of my original pieces of art, but since it was preferred to have something we had photographed or created ourselves- I chose to share this one. This is an acrylic painting that I did a few years ago. It is of my sister Diane's dog, Kekoa. If you didn't already know, Kekoa is Hawaiian for "warrior". I guess that I was drawn to the sleek build and wide eyes of their Weimaraner, and wanted to recreate it. This is a photograph of the original painting. It was painted in black and white and has not been photoshopped to a grayscale. I eliminated all mid tones in this painting, so everything is done on the extremes of pale grays to deep blacks. Because of this the contrast, the shadows are quite abrupt. Because of the shapes used to create form, it is easy to see the asymmetrical balance of this painting. Although the canvas can not be perfectly divided in half, there is a good amount of balance in the equal weight of the gray hues. There is not just one large blob of white throwing off the portrait, but the weight of the shapes and tints of gray and black are distributed equally. Also, the placement of the dog within the layout helps create balance. He seems to be level, and according to the rule of thirds his head is placed in a comfortable side-center on the frame. Because there is contrast, the image seems to be balances, and the tints of gray appear to be spaced out nicely, the painting is Harmonious. The play of light and shadow is appealing to the eye, and easy to look at.
My sister eventually had to give this dog to another family. It was hard for her, and she had a hard time with it for quite a while. I gave this painting to her after he was given away. It still hangs in their home as a reminder of the companion and friend they will always remember.