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have long been inspired by the wonderfully intricate artwork
in the illuminated manuscripts of the Celtic world-like those
found in the Book of Kells, for example (ca. 800). The scale
of detail in these ancient manuscripts is amazing, and the extent
of the innovation on basic design themes and motifs is astounding.
My own style has developed in this historical continuum. I have
also developed easy methods of design and construction—ones
that rely on a quick and easy "eyeball" approach.
Fig. 1 - "GodKnot," gouache on
paper, by David Rankine
Notice
the way the knot (in blue) is hidden within the mass detailing.
Every
artist has certain tricks up his sleeve-whether he or she
is a musician who has a number of good riffs they constantly
fall back on, or a painter who knows how to create a certain
effect. These tricks appear to be magical to the viewer, but
to the artist, they make up the basic vocabulary of the creative
language that is used to express thoughts and emotions. The
knot-work patterns I do are quite simple ones, yet the finished
pieces look complex. The trick to achieving this effect has
to do with the sheer volume of small simple knots used.
One common
pattern I use is that of a simple triangular knot.
Fig. 2
This is
a simple triangular knot.
This knot
ends where it begins, and can be forced into any given space,
including triangular, semi-circular, or rectangular spaces.
When the knots are squeezed into spaces in this way, it helps
to create a pattern or design that appears to be alive, which
is a very distinctive characteristic of Celtic design from
the Medieval period. I also use this simple knot in my mandala
designs a lot.
Fig. 3 - Detail from "Mahabindu,"
gouache and copper on paper by David Rankine
This detail
shows repeated triangular knots.
By following
this simple procedure, you can quickly learn to construct
your own knots. As long as you can doodle a design that includes
lines crossing over each other, you can turn it into a knotted
pattern.
Step 1.
Draw this simple pattern very lightly in pencil. These lines
are construction lines and will eventually be erased.
Step 2.
Outline, in fine marker, the pattern on both sides of the
pencil line, making sure you do not cross over any lines.
Step 3.
Shade in the negative ( or background ) spaces.
Step 4.
Erase the pencil lines.
Step 5.
Create the interlacing effect by making the knotwork ribbons
cross over or under each other.
Fig. 4
What we
have been creating are the negative spaces around the knot
pattern. The negative space or design for this knot is actually
a three-part pin-wheel. This "drives" the knot in
a circular motion. It is the hidden motion inside the knot
pattern.
Fig. 5
What is
important to understand is that, especially in this historical
style, the designs are all elastic-they fill any space you
need to fill. A simple triangular knot (Fig. 2) can be stretched,
pulled, pushed, and tweaked to fill any sized space. I always
break my image area into small geometric areas, and then fill
those areas with knot patterns etc., to create a kind of surface
shimmer. The basic geometric structure becomes hidden behind
all the detailing and movement.
Fig. 6
If repeated,
this simple knot can create quite a mesmerizing design.
Fig. 7
This is
a repeated (mirrored) pattern of triangular knots.
Below is a simple design of three circles intersecting at
their centre points.
Fig. 8 - Detail from "Portals of Grace,"
gouache on paper, by David Rankine
Notice
the 3-D effect of interlacing created by shading and highlighting.
Fig. 9 shows the five steps. Notice that the third step has
been held off until the end. It does not really matter when
you do this step as long as it gets done.
Fig. 9
For our
last method example, we will return to Fig. 1. The knot is
composed of three different elements weaving through each
other: two lozenge-shaped designs and a circle (Fig. 10).
Notice that the image area behind the knots in Fig. 1 has
been filled in with more detailed motifs. The image appears
to float and recede at the same time.
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
shows the five steps again.
Fig. 11
I fully
encourage you to work in color, as knot patterns really come
to life in color. I suggest coloring in the background areas
and the ribbons themselves before you outline in black marker
(Step 5). If you are using a "hot" color (yellow,
for example) for the ribbons, then use a cool color (blue,
for example) for the background. This will really punch up
the design. Some people will even see the background or negative
space design float above the knot.
All other
knot patterns are just more complex versions of the same basic
process, like those shown in Fig. 12.
Fig. 12
Now
have fun, and get knotting!
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