Home Forums Explore Media Pastels Soft Pastel Learning Center The Spotlight – June 2015 – The Horizon Line

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  • #993040
    Don Ketchek
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        Welcome artists!

        [FONT=Verdana]Here is a quick recap of what The Spotlight is all about!
        [/FONT]
        The Spotlight is an activity thread for pastel artists of all experience levels working from photos chosen by a monthly host. Most months, the host will choose photos from only one subject, putting that subject into “the spotlight,” so to speak! For example, one month the subject will be painting water, another month will spotlight flowers, etc.

        Some months, rather than spotlight a subject, the focus will be on a challenge of some sort. In those cases, we might have a wider variety of photo references, but “the spotlight” will be on the challenge itself.

        Since this is a group activity, we can pool our knowledge and resources, and grow as artists in a fun, “no-pressure” atmosphere.

        And, remember, no critiques unless specifically asked for.

        The intent is to have fun, try new things, experiment, and perhaps most of all, to see what our friends and colleagues are painting from the same reference material!

        Please note: The photos this month were taken by me or are from the Reference Image Library. You have permission to use the photos as reference to create your artwork and to sell them and/or exhibit them. The actual photos still retain the copyright of the photographer. So you cannot copy the photo to your blog, for example, without the permission of the photographer, or digitally alter or reproduce the photo for any purpose other than for your personal use, with the exception of crops, digital alterations and posts of these photos within “The Spotlight” thread.

        This month’s Spotlight is on…The Horizon Line!

        Last month, during our Spotlight thread, we had a bit of a discussion on composition. I got on my soapbox and gave my opinion on why compositional rules were more of a hindrance than a help. Well, this month I decided that our Spotlight theme would be on a topic that is often the subject of one of those rules – the Horizon Line!When the Spotlight began over 5 years ago, I began working on a series of Spotlights that covered some basic compositional choices. In fact, the Spotlight on the horizon line was the first one I began working on way back in December 2009, but I skipped doing this Spotlight time and time again. Why?

        Well, mainly because when it comes to the horizon line I am going against what is usually taught in contemporary art books. They make it fairly clear – do not place the horizon line in the center of your painting. Well, as I already mentioned, I don’t like rules – and this one may be the rule I like the least! So my early draft of this Spotlight was all about why I thought it was a stupid rule and why everyone should ignore it!

        But the Spotlight isn’t meant to be about my opinions or a place for personal rants. So I’ve revised that earlier draft and will try to approach this Spotlight just as I approach all the others – compiling as much information as I can and then allowing us all to try things out, experiment – and then reach our own conclusions! (OK, a few of my opinions will still be expressed, but as always, feel free to ignore them!)

        Note: The term “horizon line” in art has a couple different (though related) meanings. People use the term horizon line (as well as eye-level) when using linear perspective. It is the imaginary line where the vanishing points reside – and where all lines on the ground plane recede to. In this Spotlight, we won’t be concerned with perspective, but will use the term horizon line simply to denote the “line” where sky and land (or sea) meet in a landscape.

        The traditional / basic method of placing the horizon line

        Aside from the rule about avoiding placing the horizon line in the center of the painting, it’s hard to find a lot of information on horizon line strategies! So, I am relying on my own observations to formulate much of the information and opinions that appear in this Spotlight. More importantly, I urge you to do the same so that you can form your own opinions. Here are links to some of my favorite landscape painters from the past:

        Monet:

        http://www.claudemonetgallery.org/
        Corot:

        http://www.jean-baptiste-camille-corot.org/

        Winslow Homer:

        http://www.winslow-homer.com/

        William Trost Richards:

        http://www.williamtrostrichards.org/

        Having looked at many paintings in my time, I have deduced that for most of history, landscape artists placed the horizon line near the center of their paintings. Rare are the older paintings where the horizon line isn’t in the middle third of the painting. But, for the most part, when the horizon line is a fair amount below the center, it is because the subject is something tall, forcing the artist to look up. When the horizon line is a fair amount above the center, it is usually because the artist is looking down at the subject. If the artist is looking straight ahead, then the horizon line will be nearer the center than the other two alternatives, while using this basic approach.

        For lack of a better term, I will simply call it the “look direction” method. Since this method follows the artist’s gaze at the subject, this approach will almost always result in the area of emphasis taking up the largest part – or the central area – of your painting.

        Let’s take a look at some examples. On the left, are paintings with low horizon lines; on the right those with high horizon lines.

        The artist (and therefore the viewer) is looking up in the paintings on the left in order to capture the main subject, whether it is the cliffs, the clouds or the trees. And as one looks up, the horizon line drops down and the subject is more or less centered in the painting. (From top to bottom: Claude Monet, Edgar Payne, and Winslow Homer.) For the paintings on the right, the artist (Renoir, Payne, Monet) is looking down at the main subject. Obviously, in the last example, the horizon line is completely off the top of the paper. This is fairly common when looking down at the near foreground.

        Another way of looking at his approach is to ask yourself, “If I had a camera, would I need to point it up or down to capture the subject matter? Pretty simple really. In almost all cases, we wouldn’t even think about where the horizon line is.

        The same applies, of course, when the subject is straight ahead and we don’t need to look, or point the camera, up or down. In those cases, often when the subject is in the mid or distant ground – and is not something especially tall – then the horizon line would be near the center.

        Here are some Monet paintings where the horizon is near the center of the painting:

        Some of these paintings actually demonstrate why the placement of the horizon line is often not that crucial. In many cases the horizon line isn’t even that visible. It may be hidden or interrupted by trees, cliffs, buildings, boats, etc. So, for the most part, concerns about the horizon line placement only occur when the horizon line is noticeably visible.

        My point in showing you so many examples of centered horizon lines is not to say that a centered horizon line is the best place to put it, but rather to emphasize that many older paintings used this approach. The near centered horizon lines seem natural and don’t seem to be problematic (in my opinion).

        As I mentioned, it was difficult to find paintings that had very low or very high horizon among older paintings. But in more recent times, artists are taking the horizon line to new and exciting places! Let’s take a look!

        Beyond the basics

        Let’s take a quick look at some strategies that go beyond the basics. As I mentioned, today’s contemporary art books often stress not placing the horizon line in the center of the painting. Here is a typical example (From Tony Couch’s book Watercolor – You can do it! Copyright 1987 by Tony Couch. Used here for educational purposes only.)

        Couch writes, “If the horizon line will be easily seen in a painting, its placement is important: the last place it should be is through the center of the paper…because this divides the paper into two equal parts. This is repetition without variation, hence, boring.”

        Here are the illustrations from the book that accompany the section on the horizon line placement:

        Couch clearly advises against figure E, where the horizon line is centered. He also advises against figure F. Here, the horizon line is lowered slightly, but the placement of the row of trees and buildings above the horizon line still creates an equal amount of sky and land above and below those trees and buildings. Again, equal spaces = boring. Thus, figures G and H are the compositions that Couch would recommend.

        OK, here’s my opinion creeping in and why these types of compositional rules just don’t work for me. While G and H may be more dynamic and less boring (no argument there), another book on composition may point out the importance of balance in a painting. If you like balance (and I admit that that is my #1 priority in composition) then G and H won’t work as they are very unbalanced, either being very top-heavy or bottom-heavy. Others may argue that balance is really only about horizontal (side to side) balance, and those folks won’t be bothered by G and H! It depends a lot on each person’s compositional preferences. (Personally, I like the composition in Figure F far more than G and H!)

        That is why, because composition has all these various factors and personal preferences, I urge folks not to feel bound by any so-called rules that they read about. Learn the principles, use them as often as you want – but don’t feel bound by them!

        (I would be remiss if I ignored one reason to follow today’s compositional “rules” about the horizon line. Since the rules are so often repeated, it means the judges and jurors of the various art shows and contests have it in their heads, too. If you are entering a show or contest, it may not be a good idea to buck the trends of the day.)

        Ignoring my personal preferences (and you should definitely ignore them and create your own personal preferences), let’s see how today’s contemporary artists are pushing the limits of composition. Paintings where the horizon line is moved to a more extreme location up and down have become far more common.

        Here are some with a very high horizon line – with the subject quite near the edges of the painting.

        An older painting (1913) by Koloman Moser:

        A painting by contemporary artist Richard Schmid with a high horizon line and the subject (or focal area) placed high in the picture.

        And one by contemporary painter Don Stone:

        (These last 2 images are under copyright and used for educational purposes only)

        None of these examples (it seems to me) are using the “look direction” to determine the horizon line location. So, you might ask, why place the horizon line so high in the painting?

        Aside from being more dynamic, I think the placement of the horizon line (and subject) high in the picture can create a different “feel” or atmosphere to a painting. I have a longer path to travel to get to my subject or destination in these paintings, compared to compositions that use less foreground. The subject seems more distant and remote.

        Here are some contemporary paintings with very low horizon lines by Ann Packard:

        (These images are under copyright and used for educational purposes only)

        The first of these painting, might fall into the basic “look direction” category due to the fact that we would need to look up to see those fairly prominent and important clouds which play a major role in the painting.

        The other two paintings, however, have almost all the “action” in the lower half of the painting. We are not looking up to see the boats or the house. To my eye, they make the subject (boats or house) seem smaller and, once again, more remote. The house, if at been painted larger and taking up the majority of the canvas, might seem majestic. But here, it seems fragile and almost inconsequential against the vastness of its surroundings! That low horizon line can really create a very different mood, it seems to me!

        I think that these examples (both traditional and modern) point out that there are really no rules when it comes to the horizon line. What you have instead of rules, are possibilities of changing what your painting communicates depending on the horizon line location. More extreme horizon line locations may make the painting more dynamic. Changing the horizon line location may change the apparent distance to our subject, and change the subject’s relative size and relationship to its environment! It may create a very different mood or atmosphere!

        Now, back to the centered horizon line. While I don’t believe there should be a rule that says “Don’t put your horizon line in the center,” that doesn’t mean you should put it there. If you do decide to use a centered horizon line, I would advise against placing it exactly in the center – especially when your horizon line is a fairly straight line, or completely straight as in a seascape. Placing a straight horizon line exactly in the center tends to look measured and artificial. A painting already has some man-made measurements and straight lines that can’t be avoided – the edges of your paper, board or canvas! So, it may not be a good idea to add a completely evenly spaced horizon to the list!

        While we have discussed some of the reason to place the horizon line high or low in a painting, I can’t help wondering what advantages there are to it being in or near the center. Why did Monet (and many other artists) keep putting it there?

        Maybe, in some cases, you have a scene where you want equal emphasis on the upper and lower halves of the painting. Many water reflection paintings may fall into this category (notice that 5 of the 12 Monets shown earlier are water reflection paintings).

        And if you are aiming to create a more serene (as opposed to dynamic) composition, then a more centered horizon line may be a better option.

        And finally, by placing the horizon line near the center, it might create a stronger subconscious reaction in the viewer that they are actually there looking at the scene, since the horizon line would be close to the center when someone looks straight ahead. In other words, when using the “look direction” method and that look is straight ahead, the compositional design may seem more natural or transparent. In looking at the Monet paintings shown earlier, I am less aware of the artist’s hand in designing the painting compared to the Ann Packard paintings, where the artist’s design is quite apparent.

        I am not saying that a more transparent design when using the “look direction” method is better or worse than a noticeable design. They are just different approaches. Do note, however, that many contemporary art books stress “design’ as the most important aspect of a painting! I might also add that this “subconscious reaction” theory is totally my own. I have never seen this topic of transparent versus apparent design discussed anywhere.

        OK, now it is our turn to try things out and experiment with that doggone horizon line! If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused – well, I don’t blame you! I presented a lot of information and opinion – much of it totally contradictory! The placement of the horizon line – and compositional decisions in general – seem to be very different today than what was used by many of the old masters. The “look direction” method can be strictly adhered to or completely ignored! Designs can be intentionally subtle or the most noticeable thing about a painting! Yes, very confusing, but also very freeing!

        And here is our chance to freely explore all of these topics here in the Spotlight!

        Here are this month’s photo references! You’ll notice that I chose photos where the horizon lines are near the center. So the challenge will be for YOU to do the cropping and the deciding where you want that horizon line to go! Now, to help you decide, feel free to do some sketches or thumbnails with the horizon line in different locations. Feel free to share these thumbnails or sketches along with your final paintings! And also feel free to share your observations, opinions and discoveries! How does changing the horizon line change the way you feel about the painting? Its mood and atmosphere? How does the horizon line affect your ability to communicate your pictorial goals!

        (All reference photos by me)


        As always, feel free to modify the references as much as you want!

        And have fun!

        #1225985
        Still-trying
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            Wow, Don! I can’t wait to read this. Looks like a fantastic lesson. And that pink sun. It’s mine!! Thank you.

            Happy to say "hello". C and C always welcome.

            JAY:wave:

            #1225933
            robertsloan2
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                Great reference and great lesson! I liked your observation about the centered horizon and mood. I agree with it, it looks natural and transparent. The other thing that feels natural and transparent in a painting is when the look direction agrees with the main subject, the thing the viewer would first notice if they were actually there. It really works for water reflection paintings because if that’s the main subject the viewer’s glancing back and forth going wow, cool reflections! Maybe starts checking them to make sure everything’s there.

                For some reason, maybe a binge of prehistoric documentaries, I kept wanting to put dinosaurs, sea reptiles and various fantasy creatures into the references. Mermaids with filed teeth right in the foreground. Giant long necked monster rearing up to mate the lighthouse, though it should be dark and foggy for that one.

                Maybe it takes a writer to think of this one. If you’re doing the painting for a book cover, designing it with plenty of extra space either top or bottom that’s relatively featureless gives room for title and author’s name. The Lonely House would just fit nicely over that house in the distance.

                Maybe modern design ignores the serene choice because art’s not supposed to be serene or natural any more. I did notice in all the centered horizon compositions the subjects seem pretty complex both below and above it, eye paths everywhere and lots to take in. Thanks for making the point about balance. I could feel it looking at all of them and that made sense.

                I have a Deborah Secor skyscape of two enormous cumulus clouds emerging from a distant thunderbank where the horizon is a tiny sliver maybe a tenth of the painting – and still reads true if distant. Couldn’t help glancing at that – moving the horizon changes space and scale so much!


                Robert A. Sloan, proud member of the Oil Pastel Society
                Site owner, artist and writer of http://www.explore-oil-pastels-with-robert-sloan.com
                blogs: Rob's Art Lessons and Rob's Daily Painting

                #1225947
                Blayne
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                    Don, your lesson this month is such interesting material! I “cropped” the centered Monet paintings by scrolling either up or down, and didn’t see any that would have been improved by placing the horizon line off center. But you made an excellent point that judges today would likely consider a centered design to be “wrong,” or at least unsophisticated.

                    Your simplification of the horizon line as the “look direction” is clever and expedient! Same, too, for the suggestion of thinking of whether you’d point the camera up or down.

                    Thanks for the photos of the examples–and for your beautiful reference photos! You went to a lot of work putting together this month’s Spotlight.

                    Jay, let’s see that pink sun painting!

                    Robert, good point that contemporary art isn’t supposed to be serene or natural. However, it seems to me there are two distinct camps, art for the intelligentsia and art for the common folk. Intelligentsia art’s motto seems to be, “It’s not Art unless it’s ground-breaking, crazy, thought-provoking, offensive or all of the above,” whereas the results of online juried contests (and certainly my local juried exhibits) prove that the motto of Art for common folk seems to be, “It’s only Art if it resembles Art of the 19th century or earlier.” Those seem to be saying, “Be a little creative, but don’t shock us too much!” And probably would include being judged by whether the artist followed the contemporary “rules” about off-center horizon lines. (And be sure to put a butt icon on your painting of, “The Monster Loves the Lighthouse”! :lol: )

                    [FONT=Book Antiqua]Blayne C & C always welcome
                    "Art and I have an agreement... I won't ask where we are going and art won't ask, "Why me?" (Bob Brendle)
                    #1225986
                    Still-trying
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                        Blayne, You’re a hoot! Butt icon…

                        Don: I’m trying the pink sunset. But I’m doing “thumbnails” by cropping and taking pictures on my iPad of the crops. Gives me some good ideas. I just love this reference. Thank you. I hope I can do it justice.

                        Happy to say "hello". C and C always welcome.

                        JAY:wave:

                        #1226034
                        Norma46
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                            Don: The sunset photo calls to me. I must a have a gazzilion similar photos of silhouetted palm trees at sunset from Florida. I have been intimidated by the dark silhouetts but in a previous post from you months ago, you suggested that even thought the photo reads as black there is ambient color that one can/should represent . I’m definitely going to try that. Also think it would be fun to do two paintings from a single reference: one with low horizon and one with high.

                            Thanks for the lesson!

                            #1225987
                            Still-trying
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                                Maybe it’s me but there is no link to this spotlight in the gallery?

                                Happy to say "hello". C and C always welcome.

                                JAY:wave:

                                #1226026
                                Nick7
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                                    Don, you are a star!

                                    Thank you so much for all your thoughts and hard work. I am going to print all your lessons and put them into a binder.

                                    I am sorry I have been absent for so long. It’s strange, but after finishing the parrot I have been feeling like my confidence dropped pretty low, because I know I will measure all my future works up against it :D Which means everything will be worse LOL
                                    I believe I am not the first one who experience this and I do hope that your wonderful lesson will help me to focus on something new :)

                                    I love the painting by Richard Schmid.
                                    I have finally bought the Painterly Approach by Rob Rohm and most of the paintings in the book are oils. Do you think that oils and pastels have something in common? Is it possible to mimic one media by the other? I am thinking about saying “yes” when it comes to painterly style, but looking at the Richard Schmid’s painting, I am not that sure…

                                    "Persistence, and practice will get you where you want to be, even though you will go through some 'dark' stages"

                                    #1225963
                                    Don Ketchek
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                                        I have finally bought the Painterly Approach by Rob Rohm and most of the paintings in the book are oils. Do you think that oils and pastels have something in common? Is it possible to mimic one media by the other? I am thinking about saying “yes” when it comes to painterly style, but looking at the Richard Schmid’s painting, I am not that sure…

                                        I find that oils and pastels are quite similar – and much of the information in many art how-to books can be applied to multiple mediums. I, too, have the Rohm book and find it is one of the better ones out there.

                                        I think a “painterly” style can best be defined as one using shapes rather than lines. So, pastels, especially since you can use the sides and block in shapes of color, are very good for the painterly style.

                                        Don

                                        #1225964
                                        Don Ketchek
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                                            Maybe it’s me but there is no link to this spotlight in the gallery?

                                            Not yet! But I notice that this thread has not been made “sticky” yet, either. The moderators must actually be having a life!!

                                            Don

                                            #1225988
                                            Still-trying
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                                                Ok guys. This was today’s opus. This is M T Touch, lavender color, 12 x 16. Terry Ludwig pastels. (a big deal for me.) Don’s sunset reference, Thank you Don. I’m done for today. C and C welcome, as always. Photo is iPhone..sorry a bit blurry. (Have to fix that trough.)

                                                Happy to say "hello". C and C always welcome.

                                                JAY:wave:

                                                #1225934
                                                robertsloan2
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                                                    Oooh looks like the Sunset is going to be the go-to reference for this month’s Spotlight. I was tempted and may still do that one.

                                                    Blayne, LOL you have a point! Either art is supposed to be shocking, crazy, “original” (derivative of certain modern classics always called that) and offensive or at least jarring, or traditional and thus follow 19th century styles but with certain modern styles added such as no centered horizon, green avoidance and so on. I’ve mostly been applying those design rules but every now and then something has to break them and wouldn’t look right if I didn’t.

                                                    Norma, from my observations of real sunsets on many many road trips, there is a lovely point before all the color’s gone from the silhouettes where they are still dark to medium dark green with black, blues and violets in the shadows. They can seem black against the lighter sky but there are value and color variations in the trees. This usually comes while there’s lots of color like the photo and if you look closer, there are blued highlights in the treeline. Make sure it’s a teal green, though it can be a very saturated dark teal it would lean toward blue of evening, possibly with little touches of gold at the tips where light catches them. That last would be dialing back the sunset a bit but well worth it! Just keep the sky bright and colorful and the gold accents would work.

                                                    Nick, agree with Don on Painterly. It’s easy in pastels, I’ve become more painterly as I get deeper into them.

                                                    Jay, wow! I love your sunset. That’s finite perfection. I can’t analyze it. The cloud forms are wonderful and the composition exquisite, colors sharp and clear, textures fantastic, it’s flawless. Mat and frame that.

                                                    I think I may do the sunset too even though I’m not sure I could out do yours! But I did my first round of thumbnails based on the first reference and left out the boat. I put birds in some of them. I don’t like putting boaters in for some reason, it just bugs me and leaves me feeling crowded in the wilderness if there’s boaters ahead of me.


                                                    June Pastel Spotlight Thumbnails
                                                    9″ x 12″
                                                    Tombow dual tip markers on sketch paper
                                                    Photo reference by DAK723 for June 2015 Pastel Spotlight challenge.


                                                    Robert A. Sloan, proud member of the Oil Pastel Society
                                                    Site owner, artist and writer of http://www.explore-oil-pastels-with-robert-sloan.com
                                                    blogs: Rob's Art Lessons and Rob's Daily Painting

                                                    #1225989
                                                    Still-trying
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                                                        Thanks Robert. You’re always so kind. It was fun but so interesting that on my computer, the water was very green and dull. On iPad it was nearer to the colors I showed.

                                                        Happy to say "hello". C and C always welcome.

                                                        JAY:wave:

                                                        #1225948
                                                        Blayne
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                                                            Nick, if you had stopped painting when you did the beautiful cardinal you framed, you never would have done the parrot! Just saying … :lol:

                                                            Robert, nice thumbnails!

                                                            Jay, gorgeous sunset! Don was so clever to present all the reference photos with a central horizon line, and I see you have chosen to move yours up, which works very well. I like all the colors you’ve chosen. Your sky is beautiful! I see the trough you mentioned. There is a shallower one in the reference photo as well, so it’s due to the play of light on water, I suppose. I’m sure it’ll be an easy fix (she says, laughing wickedly as she remembers her own experience with easy fixes). :evil: :lol:

                                                            [FONT=Book Antiqua]Blayne C & C always welcome
                                                            "Art and I have an agreement... I won't ask where we are going and art won't ask, "Why me?" (Bob Brendle)
                                                            #1225990
                                                            Still-trying
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                                                                Thanks Blayne. Shall I send the painting to you for an easy fix???

                                                                Happy to say "hello". C and C always welcome.

                                                                JAY:wave:

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