In the class we came to the composition question- I know its not much fun- more the theory and then trying it out in practice- time consuming exercise. But it is a very important, if not the most important element in the painting.
Composition – the way in which all the visual elements within a painting are put together.
The three most basic and general rules in art are:
- format (shape of the painting);
- Arrangement of items;
- Tonal values (light & dark)
Of course the other elements as: Color, Texture, Lines, Shapes, Scale and Perspective are important, but they are all so interlinked with the 3 basic elements, that it is very hard to speak about them separately. This is why the painting is as one interlinked piece of art.
Initially I thought I will write one article on composition, but seams that this would not be a case.
Here are 3 most used computational arrangements in art (of course there are more and I hope to touch on them in following posts) :
- Rule of thirds also called Golden mean;
- "L" composition;
- Steelyard
Rule of thirds (picture courtesy of Wikipedia) also known as classical composition.
In this arrangement, we divide each side of the canvas by three equal parts. Where the segments intersect are considered to be the optimum places for the point of interest. The point of interest, the area of the painting where the eyes are drawn to, should be placed in one of the four positions.
"L" composition
Here is a great lesson on composition which uses "L" shape - photo also from this blog.
The "L" can be located any way and upside down too:)
Steelyard composition
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A steelyard is a simple balance scale whereby one large item is balanced on a bar against a smaller weight that is moved further away from the fulcrum (centre) to achieve balance.
I will be posting more on composition.
For those in who would like more hands on approach, you are welcome to join the painting class with me in Somerset West (Cape Town), South Africa.
