Balance
Unity
Movement
Proportion
Emphasis
Back in May of 2014 I talked about proportion. Lets talk about movement.
When looking at a painting the viewer looks at the painting using saccadic eye movements.

As you can see in this example, when we look at a face, we are immediately drawn to the eyes. If your painting has a figure in the composition the viewer would be attracted to the figure first.
I believe the answer to the first question is "yes". If my goal in painting is to communicate something to my viewer, I want to be as clear in my message as I can be.
The second question is more involved.
If I am painting a landscape or still life that does not have a figure in the composition, how can I control what the viewer will look at and the path that they will take within my painting?
Homer created the effect of wind blowing by giving movement to the blue ribbons of the girl's hat in a specific direction which leads your eyes to the right.
Every composition has 4 main danger points -the 4 corners. These areas have a tendency to lead the viewer out of the composition. Homer's inclusion of a few tree branches not only stops your eye from leaving the picture but also to directs your eye down the right side of the painting.
The viewer is lead downward to the sheep which is looking inward back to the figure. To prevent the viewer from moving back to the face, a distinct line formed by the blowing hem of the girls dress, and curve of the hill, as well as the addition of another sheep leads the viewer past the figure and into the left side of the composition.
The almost unnoticed vertical grasses in the lower left corner stop the viewer from leaving the painting, and the contrast of the lights and darks in the clouds lead back to the face.
•Animation-people or animals attract the viewers attention.
•Contrast of values-darks next to lights.
•Line-anything arranged in a row.
•Color-the viewer is attracted to warm colors and colors that are intense.

The Next Picture Show Gallery in Dixon, IL.
Opening is May 1, 2015 and continues
through May 31, 2015.
Join us at the Artists Reception on May 9, 2015.
surrounded by the rocks which have the darkest darks.