Landscape composition

Some books just rise above the others, some seemingly choose you, and some just keep coming back to you through all your years. I was introduced to “Composition of Outdoor Painting” alm…

The Artist’s Magazine January/February issue 2015 had an article on landscape composition, but it was these thumbnail sketches that illustrate the concepts which I found to be the most helpfu…

composition, rule of thirds, landscape painting, clair bremner, art tutorial

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The Landscape Painter’s Guide to Selecting Reference Photos

Payne was an American Western landscape painter. He grew up in the Southwest, & left home at the age of 14. He traveled all over the States, painting portraits, signs, murals, & local theatre stage sets, to pay his way. Payne was self-taught after attending (& disliking) only two weeks of the Art Institute of Chicago. He made it to California in 1909 & met commercial artist Elsie Palmer (1884-1971) - they were wed three years later. Their daughter Evelyn was born in 1914. Later, Payne (with…

Improving Landscape Composition with Perspective Cues and Land- or Sky-Dominant Cropping

So my students have been learning about composition. It was really fun teaching this to my 3rd - 6th graders. Here are some examples I did for the classes. I used a pencil to sketch, a sharpie to outline, crayons for coloring. Finding the visual sweet spots — First I drew 3 examples on the white board. (I had them mostly drawn before the students got there. FYI.) I talked about good composition, vs. poor composition. (See photos below.) I also brought in a bunch of my landscape paintings…

Remember that with only a quick read, the audience should know where they are and have a pretty good idea about what is happening. In other words, your design needs clarity, which can be achieved when it’s based on solid structure and composition principals.Â