subject: Useful Techniques For Composition In Painting [print this page] For any painting to work well, the composition will ideally have a natural balance for flow. In a lot of cases, a good composition is achieved at a subconscious level: an artist produces a picture that pleases the eye will most probably have created a composition that conforms to traditional rules. However, there are some techniques you can use to help you get the ideal balance.
Sight lines
Some of the most seemingly complicated paintings have very simple compositional devices at lead the viewers eye to a given point. Objects or areas of light and shade even brushstroke can be positioned so that they produce 'sight lines' that will literally point the eye to the focal point of the picture. Another way of leading the eye is to put shapes within shapes, so that you confine the movement of the eye within a certain area. The power behind these techniques really comes to the fore when they are not made too obvious, so that the eye moves across the painting subconsciously.
Finding the golden section
Back in the 19th century, a theory of composition, 'The golden section', was discovered based on a mathematical relationship. In simple terms, the golden section depends on the division of a straight line into two unequal parts, so that the ratio of the smaller to the larger is equal to the ratio of the larger to the whole line. This theory approximates to the ratio of 5:8. Compositions that use it generally have a strong vertical that crosses a horizontal at the point described. Paintings based on this have a pleasing balance.
Selecting your composition with a frame
This is not so much a technique for creating a composition but choosing the best area of the scene your looking at. A simple picture frame, a window mount or two 'L' shaped pieces of card that, when placed on top of each other, form a rectangle hole which will allow you to see the ideal section of your scene. All unwanted areas are masked out, so concentrating your attention the important elements. You can also use this technique, using the L shaped cards, to select the best section from a photograph.
Get a different view
When producing a picture we spend much of the time seeing it from one angle, straight on. If however, we look at our painting from a more unusual view point, we find it much easier to spot any errors in the composition. This can be done by looking at the painting through a mirror, turning the whole painting upside down or on it's side. Anything that is out of place and doesn't sit happily with the rest of the composition suddenly shouts out at us.
