Viv in Australia posted her "Hearts & Hands to Sendai" block and asked for opinions on my CQI list... I just LOVE tweaky little problems like this and always have an opinion... welcome or not. Leslie and Cathy were right when they said the crane was carrying the eye off the block but I can offer an easy solution. First the beautiful crane is a a powerful focal and you certainly don't want anything too strong to detract from it..
Second one of my mantras is if something is outstanding on your block (i.e color, element, shape, seam etc...) it is worth echoing elsewhere on the block... In this case for me it was the elegant bamboo seam on her block....
So with a little photoshop magic I can show what I would have done if it had been my block.... The short bit of bamboo is organic and does not detract but it definitely stops the exit from the block... Also it repeats the diagonal elements on the bottom corners of the block. This is a stunning block and the koi are just spectacular... I will watch this block as it progresses...
gee....you are right. The crane did lead the eye away.Apparently we in the West automatically look at the left, and "read" a piece top to bottom.The bamboo just stops the eye wandering too far.This is something I will be aware of in my own work.Thanks for the post.this block is gorgeous in every way!!
ReplyDeleteWow Gerry, you're right! The bamboo treatment is just perfect in that corner without being too much. I'll remember this tip! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGood information on what to do with a block like this. This is just what the block needed without taking away from the focal points.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOK. I want to play too. I would actually extend the cherry blossom tree down to the base of the block giving it a trunk and a few more branches...likewise, I'd follow your lead and add bamboo to the left...I would have some of the cherry blossoms cover over the bird so that it recedes a bit -- I would "pinken" up everything around the pool and deepen the area where the pool is...because, to me, the koi are the most fabulously spectacular element and the rest should support that...IMHO...nobody asked me either but it was fun...
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