Home Forums The Learning Center Composition and Design newbie struggling with composition.

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  • #469869
    kz202r
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        Hi all, I have recently picked up the paint brushes for the first time and find myself frustrated with composition issues. I seem to go to the too much content in my paintings to not enough. I have been known to take paintings off the wall after evaluating for a few weeks/months to add to the composition in an effort to better balance the scene. Is this common to new artists?

        #790166
        kz202r
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            My latest effort, seems like too much content.

            #790159
            virgil carter
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                Try thinking about the story you want your painting to tell, and what are the absolutely essential elements for that story. That’s the painting you want.

                There’s an old painting saying: “Artists interpret, never copy!”

                It means, among other things, that strong paintings always edit…adding and moving things…deleting things…until the painting consists of only the needed elements to communicate the painter’s intent.

                Your painting above is enjoyable, even pretty, but it resembles a photograph of a place, and not so much what an artist wants to communicate and is memorable. For example, what’s the story about: the table setting; the sitting cat; the trellis; the pastoral scene; the lake; the calm day and clear sky? This painting simply has too much information, IMO.

                Try to remember that a painting is not about what your eyes see, it’s about what your heart feels and wants to communicate.

                Others will be along with their own opinions, many of which will disagree. and that’s fine, since we all approach making a painting from a different perspective.

                Sling paint,
                Virgil

                Sling paint,
                Virgil Carter
                http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

                #790167
                kz202r
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                    Thank you Virgil, This painting started as a vineyard theme but quickly seemed to get out of control. I realized once I framed it and hung it on the wall it was way too busy. Need to work on defining the focus and stick with it. Thanks much!!

                    #790155

                    Hi all, I have recently picked up the paint brushes for the first time and find myself frustrated with composition issues. I seem to go to the too much content in my paintings to not enough. I have been known to take paintings off the wall after evaluating for a few weeks/months to add to the composition in an effort to better balance the scene. Is this common to new artists?

                    The amount of content is nearly irrelevant.. how they relate and guide the flow of the viewers eye is all that matters.

                    A simple example that is a masterpiece of composition would be the raft of the medusa (Théodore Géricault) .. there is an absurdly high volume of content.. but the composition is masterly done… and the crowding helps the final result. On other hand you can have extremely depopulated images with masterful composition as well like Against the Gods (Frazetta).

                    "no no! You are doing it all wrong, in the internet we are supposed to be stubborn, inflexible and arrogant. One cannot simply be suddenly reasonable and reflexive in the internet, that breaks years of internet tradition as a medium of anger, arrogance, bigotry and self entitlement. Damm these internet newcomers being nice to to others!!!"

                    "If brute force does not solve your problem, then you are not using enough!"

                    #790157

                    The amount of content is nearly irrelevant.. how they relate and guide the flow of the viewers eye is all that matters.

                    I second this and will add that is largely a matter of ordering your values and colors. Simplify them into larger groups or areas. Add a clear hierarchy in your contrasts (in value, color, detail, etc.): highest contrasts in your focal area, lowest contrasts in the peripheral areas.

                    #790165
                    zhm
                    Default

                        I agree with Ochre and tiago. I believe that this is where the talent of the artist lies, i.e. what feels right, what is the message, what is the purpose of the picture, etc.?

                        #790164
                        SimonaBuna
                        Default

                            I used to have problems with the composition and I am not experienced in paintings but I was ten years professional photographer. In photography composition is essential but I had the help of the good lenses that blurred the background but I still had to work on the composition.
                            Before you paint try to take a picture of the subject and see if you can compose better with a camera. Choose your subject and frame that subject and after that paint it, from life or from that picture.

                            facebook.com/SimonaBunaPaintings
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                            http://www.simonabuna.com

                            C & C welcome

                            #790162

                            I have been known to take paintings off the wall after evaluating for a few weeks/months to add to the composition in an effort to better balance the scene. Is this common to new artists?

                            Looks like you are an artist to me. This is what it is all about. If you are a true artist you will never be satisfied with a painting more than a few days… it is all about learning and working at getting better.

                            I have heard of great painters walking into houses after a painting has sold and changing compositions after years of being “finished”.

                            I personally like to think about my compositions as being balanced on a pendulum. I try and make the whole painting feel balanced from left to right, top to bottom, and foreground to background. This is not a science. It is a feeling. This is of course in addition to paying attention to how you guide the viewer’s gaze through your painting using leading lines, color and value contrast, atmospheric perspective, etc etc.

                            #790158
                            virgil carter
                            Default

                                There’s an old saying, “A painting is only finished when the artist decides to stop painting!”

                                sling paint,
                                Virgil

                                Sling paint,
                                Virgil Carter
                                http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/

                                #790160
                                Retiree
                                Default

                                    I know this is all about composition. But all I wanted to say was that I really enjoy your decorative painting. And your stone wall looks so real that I could touch it. Love the kitty too. It’s a happy little painting to me.

                                    #790151
                                    ~JMW~
                                    Default

                                        One way is to think about how you can define the main objects/focal?
                                        You also might consider how to make the visual journey thru the painting interesting, but with some quiet places for the eye to rest..

                                        Hard & soft edges can help a lot… hard edge/defined lines can be used for close objects & for focal..
                                        softer for the less important & far areas..

                                        You have a lot of nice elements, but many have the same edges /definition so it feels like a hop scotch to find our way around the painting..

                                        You might like to explore the tips links in my siggy..lots of info there.

                                        ~Joy~

                                        #790154
                                        Use Her Name
                                        Default

                                            Hi all, I have recently picked up the paint brushes for the first time and find myself frustrated with composition issues. I seem to go to the too much content in my paintings to not enough. I have been known to take paintings off the wall after evaluating for a few weeks/months to add to the composition in an effort to better balance the scene. Is this common to new artists?

                                            Yes. It is common and a part of learning. Composition is one of the hardest aspects of art. In a sense, it can be equated to “telling the story.” Compare to writing: A really bad writer with a good story to tell can get away with it. A very fine writer with a horrible story will not attract readers. Similarly, an artist with rudimentary skills can paint a great picture with good composition, and vise- versa. Much modern art is built in this principle.

                                            No longer a member of WC. Bye.

                                            #790153
                                            pa-paw
                                            Default

                                                What draws my eyes and attention in your painting is not the colorful elements, but the black cat that you have placed on the far right. His pose suggests to me that the cat’s attention is very focused on something in the distance. I even closely studded the arched gate to see if you had placed the figure of a person or perhaps another animal there. I like your painting very much as it is, but I’m more prone to seeking a story line.:) :)

                                                http://www.flickr.com/photos/pa-paw/
                                                [FONT=Calibri]Photography and Art Work

                                                #790156

                                                The 2 columsn frame a central zone and that is a classical way of windowing a focus for the viewer, but that pasrt of the painting lacks gesture if compared for example to the sinuous flow at the left, from the house into the plantation and following into the wall. When you follow the wall you get to the cat that redirect you again into the picture (That is nice and good).

                                                IF the frames region at center has gesture to direct you to the house at the left you would have a complete cycle and well guided tour by the image.

                                                "no no! You are doing it all wrong, in the internet we are supposed to be stubborn, inflexible and arrogant. One cannot simply be suddenly reasonable and reflexive in the internet, that breaks years of internet tradition as a medium of anger, arrogance, bigotry and self entitlement. Damm these internet newcomers being nice to to others!!!"

                                                "If brute force does not solve your problem, then you are not using enough!"

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