Using the Golden Section
 

Administrator's Note: This thread started in the Techniques section about the Golden Section, but became a philosophical discussion on the subject of Art and Science, so it's being moved here in it's entirety. There didn't seem to be an easy place to break it off.

Please continue to post anything technical in the thread in the Techniques section.

To locate the center of interest with the Golden Section: Divide the height of your canvas by 2.62 and determine a horizontal line through this point.

Then divide the width of your canvas by 2.62 and draw a vertical line through this point.

The intersection of these two lines is a magical spot for your center of interest. (i.e., 8.5 divided by 2.62 = 3.2

There was a series on one of the educational channels regarding the subject of beauty and the Golden Section entered into it. The research of Dr. Stephen Marquandt was part of the basis behind the series.

He has a very interesting web site at http://www.beautyanalysis.com. In there, he also discusses the Golden Section in relation to faces and which Karin talks about above in relation to a painting.

Especially fascinating is the section on Marquandt's site that shows how the less symmetrical a face, the less aesthetic we consider it to be and he gives examples with his "map" placed over the faces.

Example
 

The intersection of the two lines described above is the exact point of the kiss in my painting below.

I tried different compositions with this, but I think it worked best with the Golden Mean.

Thanks for the simplified explanation of how to apply the golden mean.

I was always surprised this topic never really took off since I find it fascinating.

Here's an interesting page about Leonardo da Vinci and his use of the Golden Rectangle. Be sure to mouse-over the images and you'll see the golden rectangles.
http://library.thinkquest.org/27890/applications6.html

That page is within a larger dicussion on the Fibonacci Series. Here is an introduction: http://library.thinkquest.org/27890/theSeries1.html

And, here is about the Fibonacci series in nature: http://library.thinkquest.org/27890/theSeries1.html

Perhaps this explains why four people in a painting are difficult in terms of creating an aesthetic composition. The number 4 is not a number in the Fibonacci series.

Aaahhh, the Fibonacci series. I couldn't stand math class in high school and had to pick a topic for a presentation. As you might guess, my favorite subject in high school was art. So.... I did a presentation on the Fibonacci series. I remember it to this day!

What I can't believe, Michele, is that I got to this age in my life and only heard of the Fibonacci series last week. It was never mentioned in school, but absolutely fascinating!

Thank You!
 

Thank you so much for posting this thread. I will be using the Fibonacci Spiral in my next oil painting, "Ralph!"

This whole concept is awesome, especially when you look at all things pleasing applying these rules. Cynthia the site link http://library.thinkquest.org/27890/...=1&tqtime=1010
Is a wonderful tool for so many things, you are truly a wealth of knowledge.

The Science Channel is the first place I go on the TV and I heard about the Fibonacci series last week on TV. I was so fascinated by this show, I had to go find out about it. So, of course, I looked on the internet and managed to find it even though I didn't know how to spell Fibonacci at the time.

I think it's fascinating beyond belief! Food for my mind!