The Artist's Road Guide to Composition

Paul Helleu and his Wife John Singer Sargent

No matter how good one gets at painting, if the composition or design of your picture is dull or flawed, no amount of fancy brushwork will save it. That’s why it is essential to understand what makes a good composition.

The Power of Intention:
Visualizing What You Want to See in Your Painting

The job of the artist is to select what is most interesting to him or her and then present that in a form that precisely communicates their intentions. Often, this selection and then re-presenting of the world involves an intentional heightening or exaggeration of some visual elements by the artist, and simultaneous minimization or elimination of other elements to communicate the desired idea about the subject. While it is very important to have a working knowledge of the various compositional tools at our disposal, the most important skill the artist needs to have is to be able to pre-visualize the composition which best expres…