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Author: Deborah_Christensen_Secor, Contributing Editor
| Here are some suggestions to help you see and understand the basic shapes of your painting and how they interlock like puzzle pieces, defined by value. These ideas may help you strengthen your underlying compositional shapes by giving you some ways to analyze what's happening in your painting. Remember that we're talking about massing values (or tones) here, arranging the big underlying blocks so that they're more compelling and interesting. Although I'm going to show you how to do it by sticking pretty close to the photograph, you can easily rearrange things at any time to make the painting stronger. |
| The reference photograph comes from the image library, with many thanks to Llis (Phyllis Franklin) for sharing it. I just fell in love with this doorway. It's a shot taken in Monet's garden at Giverny--a place I've never visited. However, it looks similar to the old doorways you find around Santa Fe, near my home, so it seems familiar to me. (I've probably used more 'Santa Fe' turquoise in my painting...)
My advice is to find a photo with good contrast and simple shapes to start with. It makes this exercise a bit simpler, although you can also use these techniques to simplify the most complex subject matter, as you learn to use it. I was attracted by the strong dark shape framed in the area of white, as well as the delicate shapes made by the leaves inside the bold shapes of the shadows on the doorway. Basically this photo has a lot of very interesting shapes that interweave with one another. |  |
| Next is the 30-second thumbnail. It’s about the size of a credit card in real life. Smaller than that and I can't see it!
This is simply to find the angles and values and decide where on the page they should go. When you work quickly you don't give your rational, linear brain a chance to analyze too much. Instead you rely on the spatial part that sees shapes and relationships best. If you aren't familiar with doing quick thumbnails, I can't emphasize enough how much help they may be to you. To begin doing them, try setting a timer for 30 seconds (or put a child in charge--no cheating that way!) and see what you come up with. The more you practice the more you'll likely see the value in doing them. I'm often amazed at how complete a 30 second thumbnail sketch can be when I compare it to a finished work, if I stick to the original photo, that is. |  |
| As I did this five-minute thumbnail sketch, which is also credit card size, I discovered a few angles that I hadn't noticed before, such as the bottom of the door and the snick of a step in the lower corner. I realized I needed to include the step as a light shape, to allow the viewer's eye to enter into the doorway. I don't want to close it off with foliage. The bottom of the doorway is also important in describing the shape of the shadow.
I also noticed that I needed to pay attention to the scale of the door versus the shadowed area next to it, to make sure they remain two different sizes. This makes them interesting shapes rather than static repetition. These shapes are in the most important area of the painting, so I can't afford to make mistakes there. This is the point of doing a more developed sketch. As you analyze a bit more, you can see dangers and correct misconceptions in the drawing. This is all part of seeing shapes. Don't skip this step but don't work longer than about five minutes. Instead of working further, if you aren't happy with it I suggest you do another five-minute thumbnail or go back to the 30-second stage. The idea here is to keep moving. |  |
 | I also used the computer to blur the photo, to enhance the understanding that I don't need line to make a value map. This way you can begin to see that it isn't drawing that makes a painting--though drawing skills enhance it. The underlying abstraction of shapes is far more basic than drawing skills. However, it depends on areas of value far more, massed together into recognizable shapes.
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