Composition

Good compositions don’t just happen. Adjustments to value, color and arrangement of subject matter in your picture space will always improve your composition.

This original photograph below was taken as I was driving on a road close to where I live. Painting it as it is could make a good painting. However, I always want to find a better composition.

For many years I did small sketches with pencil and paper to explore different arraignments of objects, values and colors within my picture space to get the best composition. That process  not only helped me learn composition, but also my drawing skills. Today I use a photo editing software program on the computer to do the same thing.

With the computer I can do many sketches, changing value, color and moving, adding or eliminating objects within the composition.

One photograph can lead to many paintings if you explore other possibilities. I am including a few versions as an example.

Original Photograph

Zoom in, Simplify, Less contrast.

More contrast, more intense color.

Cooler color, added water in the foreground.

Added grasses and shrubs in the foreground.

Eliminate objects to simplify.

These are just a few of the many possibilities.