Yin and Yang may sound esoteric or kinda-out-there to many of you traditional artists.  But, like I stated in my first post, I love to learn about art and art history and I have found this to be very useful and interesting.  Hey, many people feng shui their homes and studios (I did), so why not their paintings? 

So my research is not only limited to the European and American master painters, but also includes the ancient Chinese and Japanese.   I do not profess to be an authority on the subjuct, but I have learned some basic yin/yang  that are helpful when applied to our modern day painting.   If you paint, you will enjoy these basic painting principles presented in a new way – yin and yang!  

First, a bit of history… 

This Chinese philosophy of yin and yang is over 5000 years old and still is used today.  The ancient Chinese understood our world in terms of a balance of opposites.  Everything in nature has its opposite.   

For example:   

• moon/sun
• black/white
• day/night
• sunrise/sunset

Energy is released by the balance of positive and negative forces and every painting has energy. 

For example:  tone can be used to create a calm mood (yin) or dashing, energetic and vibrant (yang) brushwork can be applied to creat the energy in paint! 

In nature, we see that every day in the form of weather patterns.   

For example:  when the cool air meets the warm, this energy generates in the form of thunderclouds. This ever changing combintation of yin/yang keep the world spinning and creates chi  which is the harmonious life giving force of the universe.     

But…no one thing is completely yin or completely yang. Each contains the seed of its opposite.   

For example: winter turns into summer and what goes up must come down.  That said, yin and yang are interdependent.  One cannot exist without the other as they support each other. 

But, what does this yin/yang, feng shui stuff have to do with painting? 

A good painting always has a harmonious balance of yin and yang through the use of contrasts, yin being shadow and yang representing light.  Just like the yin/yang symbol below.  

 The yin/yang philosophy can be applied to every aspect of art.  This includes composition, color harmony , contrast, value, balance,  etc.  In the following posts I will discuss how you can apply the yin/yang principles in painting.   

Suggested reading: 

Lori