Be a good composer - Part II

You may feel confident enough to tackle drawing from photograph. Most of us become snap-happy when we are on holiday.

What looks perfectly lovely through a view-finder often turns out tiny and distant in the resulting snap-shot.

Some how it can seem only half the scene you expected. Photographs can nevertheless provide excellent information for a drawing.

As an artist you are free to alter any scene you choose to draw. Two of the greatest English painters changed what they saw in order to produce great works of art. They were John constable and J.W. Turner.

Study the example of a common error I have drawn and shown in figure 1. The top sketch has a series of horizontal lines, two opposing trees, and a hill in the centre. The lower drawing demonstrates improvements that you can make. I have shifted the hill off centre, and moved the trees and re arrange the fields so that the eye is led into the scene. When learning how to draw landscapes you are tempted to concentrate solely on the items which make up your picture, and forget about composition. Figure 2. Shows what I mean.

The incorrect sketch has two hills, two trees and two boats which appear to be heading out of the scene. The high horizon does not help this faulty composition.

Now study, the correct drawing shown below, in figure 2.The boats sail into the picture. Two different size trees are balanced by a broken, rugged shore-line.

A lower horizon flattens down the hills, and a distant headland has been added. Just a little thought given before beginning a drawing can make a huge difference to the finished job.

At the start you may draw the out line in pencil using H.B. Pencil with a sharp point, and complete it with pen and ink.Constant practice will help you to keep in mind the correct version of drawing a landscape.