Design and composition in painting
Tissa Hewavitarane
How the parts of the painting are arranged on the paper is called
design or composition.
A village scene
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End of the day |
And how the painting is put together is a matter of personal taste
and personal 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; 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 principles 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 bitty, 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 emphasize, and how should I emphasize it?" Firstly you must
provide a way 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, division of space is important - that is the way a picture
is organised. There are lot of ways of doing this with triangular,
circular radiating and rectangular divisions to mention a few.
They are much more exciting visually if they are asymmetrical. Third,
always provide a centre of interest (focal point). The most important
thing and what a picture is really all about.
It is very important that this 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 all have
one thing in common: they involve the use of contrast 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, 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 the 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 introduced to
make alive painting. The group of trees, the cart taking a bend and
human figures seated inside the hut in silhouette.
Figures can make a landscape full of life and gives depth to a
picture. Observe the clouds on a sunny day. There's 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. Warm and cool greens built up with
transparent glazes give the effect of sun shinning through the leaves.
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 a graceful painting. Don't 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, must observe and paint each colour and value carefully and
accordingly. 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. This colour must
match the value of the light colour and should be painted in such a way
as not to mix these two colours, laying gingerly over the other.
For the water colour 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.
Middle and dark values against light values
The second picture at sun set I have titled 'End of a day'. Observe
the sky, at sunset takes a radiant glow which even the brightest pigment
colours can never hope to match.
Note how the bright yellow of the setting sun with the cool blues,
and grey dark clouds and dark tones on trees at the distance thus
increasing the impression of light and luminosity.
Along the paddy field note the woman with a heavy load on her head
homeward bound. Its always a big decision as to whether to put figures
in a landscape or not. Be sure that whatever figure you do put in is an
integral part of the picture and not just a small after thought.
They can be used in different ways to give life, movement and sealed
to ascence. You don't need to bother about putting any details like
fingers, features, or feet. You don't need to know anything about
anatomy.
Just that the parts should relate together correctly in right
proportion, and dropped in the right place. Observe the simple hut at
the distance with huge dark trees behind and birds flying over the
field.
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. So have
convictions. That's what life is all about. Life is conviction. Discover
yourself, and paint what you are. |
