Exploring Fractals Through Acrylic

This is a painting I recently made for my dad. I call it Sierpinski's Color Triangle. The pattern of triangles you see is a fractal called Sierpinski's triangle. A fractal is a pattern that can repeat itself infinitely. The Sierpinski's Triangle can be made by starting with an equilateral triangle, dividing it into 4 smaller equilateral triangles and taking away the center of the smaller triangles. With the remaining three triangles we can repeat the process of dividing and taking away the center. The image below illustrates the first few iterations of the fractal design.

When I was brainstorming for what ultimately ended up being this project, I wanted to focus on making something colorful. I used to make pottery and glazing was my favorite part of the process. I missed the intricacies of how the different glazes interacted when you mixed them. I had just developed some curriculum based on fractals so they were fresh on my mind. I wondered how to some how combine fractals and with mixing of colors.

I had a few ideas but I settled on making a sort of color wheel out of a triangle since each primary color could sit in one corner and as you moved around the colors would mix. I decided on the Sierpinski design since all it seemed to take relatively little painting technique to pull off. I put down a bunch of painters tape on a canvas then measured out the design. I cut out each of the small so I could fill them in and end up with some nice clean lines. I initially mapped out a precise color mixing pattern, but then when it came time to paint, I found it hard to be so precise(I plan on revisiting this idea when I have a bit more experience). A friend suggested I fill in the blank space to give the piece a more finished feel. I think the black backdrop makes the colors pop a bit more. After I let all the pain dry I just peeled off the remaining tape and it was finished.

Coming into this project I hadn't had much experience with painting. I learned a lot about about brush technique with acrylic paint. It was really hard to get a nice even coat. Next time I am working with acrylic paint trying to fill in precise shapes I might dilute the acrylic with some water. I am hoping that having a less viscous paint will help make a more consistent even texture. I have some other ideas with Sierpinski's triangle doing some wood carving and resin work but plan to explore some other type of fractal designs. The Mandelbrot set is a cool example of a complex fractal design that looks super cool. I am struggling a bit to take some of the more complex thing I find interesting in math into my art. I feel like I need to have a lot more experience with some more basic deigns before I feel comfortable enough to take on something more abstract.