Kenyon Cox Quote

150/365

Welcome back everyone! Thanks for always coming back to see what else I have discovered about art. I love sharing this stuff! All of your comments, likes, pins, tweets, and shares are keeping them coming 😀

Today we are going to take a look at Kenyon Cox. He was a painter, teacher, and an important figure in the art world.

“Without Design — you may have representation — but you can not have Art.” ~ Kenyon Cox

That’s a great quote and it relates to photography as well. Sure, anyone can take a picture which will represent the object they are capturing, but to have art you must consider the design. How will you compose this image and clearly communicate your message to the viewer? This final design, which requires more sophistication than pressing the shutter button, will determine the impact your image has on you and with the world.

If you are wanting to read a great book by Kenyon Cox try “What is Painting.” This is where he analyzes painters in a poetic way where you can gain inspiration. I’ve listed it in the V I R T U A L  L I B R A R Y as well.

Here are some pieces by Cox which are in fact designed. Yes, I slapped the grid on there just to double check.

We can see how he’s using the Root 3 rectangle to organize his painting. Can you find all of the points that he locks in and parallels to the grid?

Here we have another piece by Cox.

We can see how he organizes the three woman using the grid and other design techniques.

Here’s Kenyon Cox painting.

SaveSave