Spatial Properties of the Elements Spatial Properties of the Elements John Marin, Sunspots, 1920. Color is integrated directly into the form of the picture in a positive and direct manner in order to model the various spatial planes of surface area. Since the time of C zanne, there has been a new awareness of the spatial characteristics of color. Prior to then, deep space was considered as beginning with the picture plane and receding from it. Other artists often use intense colors to advance shapes beyond the picture plane.
Analogous colors create limited spatial movement, while contrasting colors enlarge the space.
Both exploit the limits of space.