Design and composition in painting
by Tissa Hewavitarane
How the parts of the painting are arranged on the paper is called
design or composition. And how the painting is put together is a matter
of personal taste and desire of the artist. But there are certain
elements which, if put together correctly, will produce a beautiful
design.
What the artist has to work with are called the elements of art
design; The ways to put them together are called the principles of
design. The elements of design include (the list is different with
almost every artist) line, colour, shape, value, texture, space and
form. The parts of design include (this list varies even more) balance,
rhythm, emphasis, unity, variety, proportion and movement.
These principles are concerned with how the art elements relate to
each other - line to line, shape to line and so on. What we should
really be concerned about is this relationship of parts. These parts
must work together and be satisfying then the composition will be good.
What is composition?
Composition is simply the means of arranging the parts of your
picture so that they add up to a harmonious whole. A badly composed
picture will look a bit disjointed and faintly irritating, but a well
composed picture fits together in a satisfying way even though we may
not be able to explain exactly why.
When planning the composition of a painting always ask yourself 'what
do I want to emphasise and how should I emphasise and how should I
emphasise it?"
Firstly you must provide away into the picture, usually at the
bottom, the eye is then led over the foreground to the main part of the
painting, resting at the centre of interest and exciting in the distance
or out of the side.
Secondly, the division of space is important that is the way a
picture is organised. There are a lot of ways of doing this with
triangular, circular radiating and rectangular divisions to mention a
few.
Exciting
There are much more exciting visually if they are asymmetrical. Third
always provide a centre of interest (focal point).
It is very important that the centre or focal point should be placed
correctly in the picture where everything can lead the eye to it. There
are many ways to draw attention to the focal point, but they involve the
use of contracts to generate excitement in that area. Choosing the focal
point of your painting and planning ways to accentuate it are the keys
to good design.
Just a play or film, often has one main character and supporting
cast, so a painting should have one focal point that is, one spot that
draws the eye and which carries the main theme of the painting should
have one focal point that is one spot that draws the eye and which
carries the main theme of the painting, supported by shapes and colours
of secondary interest.
This is what gives balance and unity to the painting. You could
observe the painting done, related to this article. The painting depicts
a village scene done on a bright sunny day. First the focal point the
hut is placed just off centre. The main object of interest should never
be the exact centre of your painting, move it to the left or right.
Plenty of varieties
Only a focal point on a painting is liable to look monotonous. So
compliment it with plenty of varieties.
Note what I have have introduced to make a live painting. The group
of trees, the human figures standing. Figures can make a landscape fall
of life and gives depth to a picture.
Observe the clouds on a sunny day. There is a lot of light around and
blue violet light rays are often reflected. Trees are massed into groups
of light and dark tones so that each one registers strongly against the
other. Variety causes the composition to be alive to help from being
monotonous.
All the elements of nature can be brought to make a bright coloured
and graceful painting. Do not allow any part of the painting to become
dull because of lack of variety. As you, have just learned, nature is
always changing and we as painters.
You must observe and paint each colour carefully. The earth depends
on the value and colours of the sky. A successful painting of nature's
vista depends on our knowledge and the role of the sky plays in this
spectacular drama.
We must always be aware of the effect that light has on our painting.
An oil painter places his warm light colours on the canvas and then
mixes very carefully the cool light of the atmosphere. The colour must
match the value of the light colour and should be painted in such away
as not to mix these two colours, laying gingerly over the other.
Value
For the watercolour painter it is different because we must keep the
light colour a lighter value so as not to make the second wash look
green. We are working with a transparent medium.
The number of elements that make up a painting is too numerous for us
to consider simultaneously while in the process of painting. Rather we
must decide on one or two elements that will be of concern in a piece of
work, and allow all other elements to take care of themselves.
Avoid thinking of yourself as a watercolourist. Your objective is not
to become the best technician of the medium of watercolour, but to be
the best painter you can be. As an artist practise the craft of
painting, the actual laying on of paint and see the beauty and truth of
what's around you. |