I don’t remember precisely, the name of the first painting I saw, of Paul Klee’s rough grids of colored squares. Here are some of Klee’s paintings in the style to which I refer: Ancient Sound, Abstract on Black; Coming to Bloom; Altimetry of Stripes; Rhythmical, Glass Facade.
I looked for patterns of color, but could find none. I could not find any rational (i.e., mathematical series) or aesthetic reason for the ordering of the array. I was frustrated. Perhaps the order of colored blocks of paint was random and the exact point of the composition was to make the viewer’s eyes search nonstop for order.
Here is a rectilinear array that I painted:
Color Patches, After Klee
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block
I had planned to add more to this composition, to which I applied latex masking prior to painting. However, the colored squares and rectangles provided the only visual elements needed, and I abandoned the white spaces except those that I made into the horizontal and vertical lines of the grid.
I’ve been reading about Klee and he definitely had his own formula for his grids using numbers in some complicated way. Best to just follow your own muse with them I think! (K)
His grids also had something to do with musical composition. It would be nice to know what he was thinking. Thanks, Kerfe!
j
He evidently wrote things down, but whether anyone else could understand it is another question…
This looks like a window, filled with sunlight! Very nice!!
Thank you, Maria. Had not thought of that but you’re right, the white space could be the sun lighting up the window panes.