I don't know if it was totally original with him, but Skip Lawrence used to tell his students that "something has to win," be it a color, a shape, texture or subject. If everything has equal weight, nothing wins, and the viewer won't know what you want him to focus on.
If you are painting a boathouse, make it the dominant sized shape in the rectangle. How is the viewer to know that the building is your subject if it is smaller, or equal sized to every other object in the painting? Make the building fill the majority of the space.
The same thing is true of a landscape. If you want the land and the objects on it to be your subject, it has to occupy the majority of the space. If you want the sky to be your focal area, it has to "win" the space contest.
So here's a painting I did of the Spanish Pavillion in Forest Park in St. Louis. What do you think?....Is it the land or the sky that is the focal point? Based on what compositional decision?
Posts
Hi Carole,
ReplyDeleteI'm saying the building is the winner. Everything else in the composition revolves around it. The land and the sky are of equal lesser importance. The building is the darkest value in the composition and the edges are sharper. It has a high degree of intensity as well due to the hues of red and orange that are complimented by the softer greens and blues in the sky. It is a very nice painting as are the rest of your works.
Sorry I misspelled your name. I thought I was still previewing and hit return instead of edit.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stan,
ReplyDeleteWhere do you live? I have a few followers that I don't seem to know, and I'm hoping the blogsite is catching on in places outside my hometown of St. Louis.
And thanks for the nice comments! Carol
Peoria, Arizona
ReplyDeleteI can't remember how I found your blog, it must have been one of my numerous searches for images to look at. Your watercolors are masterfully executed and I check them out whenever you post new ones.
Stan, This is great news! Thanks so much for your support, and I will try to keep up the postings and not disappoint! Feel free to spread the word about my blog, and if your organization needs a workshop instructor, I am available!
ReplyDeleteBest, Carol