Mostly, people comment about my use of color in my paintings, but I consider composition to be my strongest point, and the most fascinating aspect of painting. When I studied art at the University of Washington, there was a very strong emphasis on composition, requiring us to take six basic design classes before we could sign up for some of the painting courses. The painting and sculpture teachers also structured their classes around composition over technique. After a while, the basic elements of composition became so much a part of each painting that I didn’t even consciously think about them.
REFOCUSING TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
When I do have a problem with a painting, it is almost always with the composition and then I go through the list of elements – balance, contrast, repetition, line, color, rhythm, etc. until I solve the problem. The rule, set out by my teachers, was to lead the viewers around the painting without giving them a strong line or color to lead them out of it. We also were to balance out the elements, breaking up the space in an asymmetrical way, never placing the center of interest in the exact middle.
FERNS AS DIRECTIONS
Over the years I’ve learned many different ways to direct the viewers around the painting, and my favorite device for landscapes is to use ferns as “pointers”. Another way is to use color to lead the eye around the painting. If I do have a branch of a tree that leads out of the painting, I make sure I have another one to lead the viewer back in. Contrasting light against dark is one of the strongest ways to direct the viewer and is employed by nearly every artist in some fashion. When I look at paintings in art magazines, the ones with the strongest compositions, no matter what the image or medium, are the ones I enjoy the most.
An example of the way I use ferns and color to direct the viewer is illustrated in my watercolor – Santiam Forest Undergrowth”.
