Stimulating, thought-provoking guide shows how to discover a rich new design source in the abstractions inherent in natural forms. Lines of growth and structure, water and liquid forms, weather and atmospheric patterns, luminosity, earth colors, many other elements are shown to be wellsprings of creative abstraction. Over 370 photographs and other illustrations.

Table of Contents for Abstraction in Art and Nature

Introduction to the Dover Edition
Acknowledgments
1. The Meaning of Abstraction
The Evolution of Abstraction
Learning the Abstract Language
Words vs. Images
A Study Program and Materials You Will Need
2. Line
Does Line Exist?
Lines Are Not Lines
Stick Figures
Expressive Use of Lines
Four Orders of Line
Lines of Gravity and Levitation
Sun and Earth: Light Lines and Dark Lines
Lines as Movement and Time
Linear Forms
Line Forms Based on the Curve
Line Forms Based on the Straight Line
Cosmic Lines
Streaming Lines
Lines of Growth and Structure Formation
"Lines of Break, Fracture and Shear"
Lines of Erosion and Decline
3. "Form, Shape, and Mass"
Our Instinctive Sense of Geometry
Going Beyond Geometry
Categories of form in Nature
Forms of Energy Fields
Aerial and Atmospheric forms
Cloud Forms
Water and Liquid Forms
Solids and Earth Forms
How We See the Earth
Crystals: A Close View
Rocks and Boulders
Larger and Farther Earth Forms
Plant Forms
Forms of Organisms
"Forms of Disintegration, Decay, and Death"
4. Pattern
Cosmic Patterns
Weather and Atmospheric Patterns
Water Patterns
Patterns of Earth Forms
Patterns in Plants
Patterns in Branching
Patterns of Leaves
Patterns of Plant Growth
Effects of Plants on One Another
Patterns of Living Creatures
Patterns of Fish Forms
Patterns of Birds
Patterns of Vertebrate Animals
Patterns of Human Forms
5. "Space, Proportion, Scale, and Perspective"
Inner Depth
Inner Proportion
Proportion
Scale and Space
Planes into Space
Visual Organization
Natural Perspective-the Visual Cone
Natural Perspective-the Viewpoint
Natural Perspective-Parallel Lines
Natural Perspective-Vanishing Points
Foreshortening
Some Final Remarks on Perspective
6. "Light and Darkness, Black and White"
Daylight
Seasonal Alterations of Daylight
How Weather Alters Daylight
Night
Candlelight
Electric Light vs. Natural Light
Darkness
Luminosity in Plants and Animals
Atmospheric Luminosity
Lightning
Measurable Characteristics of Light and Shadow
Brilliance
Intensity of Light
Direction of Light Rays
Reflected Light
Cast Shadows
Light Effects on Objects with Plane Sides
Light Effects on Curved Surfaces
Compositional Uses of Blacks and Whites
Silhouettes
Light and Dark Lines
Engravers' Lines
Reverses and Shifts of Light and Darkness
Planes and Gradations of Atmospheric Light and Dark
Light and Darkness in Planes of Space
7. The Color Expressions of Nature
Our Inner Sense of Color
After-Image Color Progression
Personal Color Sense
Logic of Paint Pigments
Blends and Gradations
Tinting and Shading Colors
Complementary Color vs. After-Image Color Progression
Opacity and Transparency
Two Opposing Groups of Color
Interaction Between Colors
Momentary States of Color
"Prismatic Colors, Coronas, and the Rainbow"
Cosmic Color
Atmospheric Color
Color of Water and Liquids
Earth Colors
Rock and Mineral Colors
Plant World Colors
"Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables"
Color in Animals
Color in Fish
Color in Insects
Color in Reptiles
Color in Birds
Color in Mammals
Colors of Human Beings
Afro-Indian People
Oriental People
West Eropeans
Color Resonance and Harmony
Bibliography
Index

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