The Artist's Road

The Artist's Road

Selection and Composition

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

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The Artist's Road
Jan 13, 2026
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Whenever we are studying a subject for painting, we give great consideration to the compositional design of scene, whether it is a still life, landscape, portrait and so on. There can be no rush to this process. If a painting is to be successful and meet or exceed our imaginings, then it must start with a thoughtful, well-considered design. We refer to this activity as Imagineering—I think Walt Disney may have coined that term. Those students who try to skip this step usually wind up making big changes later on their wet canvas—a mess to fix at that point!

Zoomed In Landscape Photo © John Hulsey

Zoomed-In

Half Way Back Landscape Photo © John Hulsey

Mid-Ground

Zoomed Out Landscape Photo © John Hulseuy

Zoomed-Out

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