Negative Space

Negative space can be defined by the space surrounding an object. Where you would have the positive space as the subject of a drawing or photograph, to find the negative space, you would reverse the image, so the emphasis isn’t on the subject anymore. Usually, negative space is white and positive space is black, because it’s more prominent. Negative space defines the positive space, they are interrelated.    

2. Explain how you found negative space in 1. Your Cutout?, 2. In your stool drawing?

I cut out the image of the owl, which was the subject of the first side of the paper and glued it against the background. The background would become the negative space, because the owl was the subject. To emphasise the negative space in the second drawing, I simply reversed the colors of the negative and positive space, so that the color behind the owl in the first drawing became the color of the owl in the second drawing. I found the negative space in the stool drawing, by drawing the lamp, and instead of coloring the subject of the drawing black, I colored the background black. I found the negative space by locating the space around the outline of the lamp.

3. Why does it help an artist to see in negative space?

Negative space helps both the artist and the audience. It helps the audience view a part of the picture which isn’t normally focused on. And it helps the artist bring attention to this part of their drawing. It’s very important to be able to focus on the drawing as a whole. In this way, by using colors which create emphasis, you can frame the positive or negative space. If an artist is able to view the negative space, they can make decisions about how to keep the negative space proportionate to the positive space, to create balance.

4. How is negative space useful in creating art?