The shifts in color and/or value of the planes indicate the turning of form. The planes might be compressed near the edge of a form, elongated in the direction of the edge, in order to indicate the turning away of the form from the viewer. As opposed to works that use larger planes to indicate form, smaller planes can indicate a more refined sense of observation on the part of the artist, and the painting/drawing brings us closer to what the artist sees or imagines, while clearly showing the mind of the artist at work.

Small planes can also be used in purely abstract works that create the illusion of a three-dimensional abstraction.

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