Scale/proportion/balance

Balance refers to the way elements like shapes, textures, lines, and colors are arranged in a piece. Elements are given equal "weight", unlike the picture at the top. I used this picture because it is a perfect example of the opposite of balance. Using the relative size of elements against each other can attract attention to a focal point. When elements are designed larger than life, scale is being used to show drama. You can minimize the scale to decrease the importance of something as well. Larger scales or proportions attract a persons eyes more than a smaller scale. The main character of a movie can be drawn to a much larger scale than the other characters to show his importance or his main roll. The eyeball is what catches the viewer's eye. If this picture were balanced, the eyeball would be much  smaller and blend in with everything else. When I think of balanced, I think of one of those scales used in chemistry and both are equal or level.

     The painting on the bottom shows the element of  balance. It was painted by Kathie del Hierro in 1974. Ms. del Hierro is an art teacher at Hill Country Middle School. Her painting uses oil paints and is on canvas. Her painting shows balance because the trees are equal or symmetrical. Both trees catch the viewer's eyes equally unlike the big eyeball on the top picture.