On the Horizon

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

The Passage 48 x 48” Oil John Hulsey

In all landscape painting, one of the first and most important considerations in designing a picture is answering the question of where the horizon will be. This sounds very simple, but some knowledge about visual perception is required in order to make a sound decision. It really matters to the success of a picture to know why the horizon line is put where.

“When the horizon line’s at the bottom, it’s interesting. When the horizon’s at the top, it’s interesting. When the horizon’s in the middle, it’s boring as shit”
- John Ford to Stephen Spielberg in The Fablemans

That quote from The Fablemans is partially right and pretty funny, but isn’t always true. Ford made many western movies located where the sky plays an enormous role in the feeling and impact of a scene. Especially in Monument Valley, Arizona, where so many westerns were shot, it was natural to set the horizon and cameras low to exaggerate the massiveness…