Pointers

                                             Barrett's Park

In this painting done in my workshop last week, the subject is the red canoe. Leading the eye towards the craft was the challenge.

First, I chose to make the canoe red, a color that always draws attention.  More important, I had several elements that pointed to the canoe:  the treeline, the wall, the shoreline, the clumps of seaweed left at the high tide line.  Looking over something is another way to frame a composition so that the viewer's eye will be directed to the focal point.

I know this spot well, but didn't paint it on-site due to a rainy day.  I felt free to devise strategies that would frame and point to the canoe.  So, don't always depict what's there.....Use your compositional skills to subtly lead the eye to where you want it to go.