Runaway Cakes

Artyczar

Artyczar

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While working on my artist's book, I'm also switching back and forth on this large-ish ink drawing on handmade paper from Nepal. It's 30 x 20 inches in size.

I liked it at first and didn't mind it being crooked, but now I'm not so sure about it. I'm determined to finish it to see how it will look but I am not sure if I should start all over on a new piece of paper and make it a little bit more straight.

cakes-ip72.jpg
 
What beautiful paper! Only you can decide about the position. I like the way it looks like an uphill march, and all the feet are slightly different, too. It has that human touch, not machine or stamp!
 
Thats and undertaking in itself. If my old eyes are seeing the faded charcoal or intial drawing, the bottom are bigger and walk to the bottom of the viewer right of the sheet. If you were to start the curve on the line you are on that would look pretty cool. Of course it would be ok uphill as it would get the viewers attention and that's not a bad thing. Not everything in life is straight.
 
That's a lot of cakes to decorate! What a cool design and like Terri, I kind of like the uphill march. I guess you could crop it and straighten it if you feel it looks better but that would mean losing a few cakes. Whichever you decide it's a wonderful piece!
 
Agree with Zendruid. Trust your process. It looks promising, and most likely great when it´s finished.
Also I think that "ruler straight" would not really fit with your style anyway.
 
Thank you everyone! You are all right. That was my initial instinct, but I had a lot of doubts when I held it up. I wanted it to be a bit cattywampus, but it seemed really "bad" when I took a second look at it halfway through. I've already made all the penciling, and you can not erase on this paper, so I'm kinda stuck with it if I finish it. Doing another would suck.

It will show alongside a Dan drawing I did a long time ago, which is a little crooked. I just hope they look okay together.

danpracticedetail.jpg
 
I agree with what's been said, the angle WORKS!

Ayin I find too many of my paintings show a "right hand bias" especially the verticals. I'm very much aware of it when I paint and it still happens.

Often when right-handers write they angle the paper, that angle compensates for the angle the arm/hand makes when it writes from left to right. Try handwriting with the paper directly in front of you and your arm extending out at 90 degrees vertical to the paper. It's very uncomfortable and your writing will suffer.

But when we paint, with the canvas locked in an easel directly in front of us -- especially if you stand-- that is exactly what we're doing, so over the course of a painting there is a tendency to angle the hand to a more comfortable and familiar position -- but since the canvas on the easel is not in a compensating angle, horizontals tend to angle up from left to right, and verticals tend to angle toward the left.

Ayin, and if you're left-handed -- forget everything I said. 🫰

​

 
You surely don't expect runaway cakes to all form a nice straight line? They're in a hurry, some may even fall completely out of line. I like them! ❤️ ❤️
 
These are great. I can't have cake (I mean, I'm not supposed to have cake), sadly, so it's best if they run from me, especially uphill, as I'm far less likely to keep up the chase.
 
Artyczar said:
While working on my artist's book, I'm also switching back and forth on this large-ish ink drawing on handmade paper from Nepal. It's 30 x 20 inches in size.

I liked it at first and didn't mind it being crooked, but now I'm not so sure about it. I'm determined to finish it to see how it will look but I am not sure if I should start all over on a new piece of paper and make it a little bit more straight.

View attachment 37109
Click to expand...
I like them as is. To me there's a definite rhythm. Maybe the uphill walking required once the cakes are gone.
 
Bongo, that all makes so much sense! I wonder why I was able to keep the Dans more straight than the cakes. Maybe because I was sitting lower? When I drew the cakes, I was standing over a higher table. That's the only thing I can think of, and also, it's portrait format as opposed to landscape.

Also, thank you sno, sculptcha, JennieJo, and Jo! I also can not, or should not have cake. I LOVE cake though. I am overweight, and this has put me in the diabetic range now. If I lost the weight, I could probably have it in moderation. The cakes are supposed to represent healing, so maybe I should rethink that! Cake can soothe, but not really heal. Hmmm.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and feedback on this. I am getting closer to finishing it. ♥️
 
Ayin, I run across the "symmetricals" like my wife (as I call them) and the "offsets" like myself. Some simply cannot abide what they see as unbalanced and I'm certain that it somehow sets up an uncomfortable tension in their brains when they see anything that fits their definition of "off". Others of us relish a very different kind of balance that thrives on off center, off kilter, off anything compositions that to us feel more dynamic. You takes your pick and you takes your chances.

It's your vision that counts whichever you choose. That's what you would advise the rest of us, isn't it?

Looks good as you posted it to me. More intriguing to my eye than a "where's Waldo" poster that might result from too uniform a setup.
 
This reminds me of those puzzles where you have to find the two identical objects. ❤️ And there ARE 2 cakes that are almost the exact same.:giggle:
 
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