Lines can reflect a person’s emotions, such as happiness, sadness, excitement, and so on, and they can also reveal the artist’s personality and what makes them unique. Current emotions and spiritual states can be expressed through lines. Lines themselves can be thick, thin, hard, soft, dark, light, long, short, wide, or narrow. Different states can serve as tools to express the emotions behind a work. For example, horizontal lines typically represent relaxation and calmness, while vertical lines symbolize balance, strength, integrity, stability, self-satisfaction, and action. Diagonal lines convey dynamism, instability, strength, and readiness.
In the painting “Monk by the Sea,” there is a small figure near the center-bottom, which is actually a priest. He stands on a patch of white land, facing a blue ocean. Most of the lines in the painting are horizontal, and as mentioned earlier, horizontal lines represent relaxation. A spiritual worker must be calm. The painting conveys a sense of solitude. Of course, color also plays a role, as cool tones are used here. The sea is deep blue, and the sky is light blue. Blue symbolizes calmness, and horizontal lines also represent tranquility. This reflects the preacher’s state of mind: calm, leisurely, and relaxed.
