Portfolio: Beginning Composition

Tips and techniques for creating well-composed works of art in acrylic, watercolor, and oil

Kimberly Adams

• Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781633227934
• eBook ISBN: 9781633227941
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

Learn to create eye-catching, well-composed works of art using acrylic, oil, and watercolor paints with Beginning Composition.

From the concept- and technique-driven Portfolio series comes Beginning Composition, which details how to compose a work of art so that it draws in—and then holds—the viewer’s attention. This book features quick exercises for getting started in art, primers on the principles of composition and the Rule of Thirds, what to look for when composing artwork, examples of successful (and unsuccessful) compositions from a selection of artists, and customizable painting projects.

Beginning Composition is written and illustrated by Kimberly Adams, an experienced author and professional artist with years of experience in creating versatile, stunning works of art, as well as co-author of Oil & Acrylic Workshop (Walter Foster Publishing). In this book, Kimberly teaches you how to create successful compositions in acrylic, oil, and watercolor paints. After an introduction to the essentials of composition and some examples of composition in action, you are then invited to create your own artwork on a range of subjects, including landscapes, florals, animals, and more. The painting projects encourage personalization and creativity. Other topics covered include conveying mood and emotion through composition, the Golden Ratio, focal points, and more.

The Portfolio series covers essential art techniques, core concepts, and media with an approach and format that’s perfect for aspiring, beginning, and intermediate artists.

Also available from the series: Beginning Acrylic, Beginning Drawing, Beginning Watercolor, Beginning Pastel, Beginning Colored Pencil, Beginning Color Mixing, Expressive Painting, Beginning Color Mixing, and Beginning Pen & Ink.

SUBJECTS
of a Design

Design Considerations

“GOOD COMPOSITION IS LIKE A SUSPENSION BRIDGE—EACH LINE ADDS STRENGTH AND TAKES NONE AWAY.”
—ROBERT HENRI, AMERICAN PAINTER

The earlier chapters in this book discussed the principles of design and how to use them to plan a successful composition. Now let’s look closely at four common painting subjects—landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and florals—and how a properly executed plan works to create the feeling and idea that an artist wishes to portray.

When designing an artwork, consider the light source, entry point, and structure, and avoid tangents to ensure that there aren’t any unwanted distractions in your piece.

LIGHT SOURCE Chosen to translate light and values in a piece of art, the light source helps create the illusion of volume and depth and the feeling of three-dimensionality.

ENTRY POINT This refers to the placement of an object, a shape, or a color used to draw the viewer’s eyes to a starting point in a piece of art. Most commonly used in still-life paintings, entry point ensures that the subjects don’t look like they are floating or suspended in air. The entry point guides the eyes in the direction that the artist wants the viewer to follow.

STRUCTURE The skeleton that supports the elements of a piece of art.

TANGENTS These occur when two lines touch each other, creating a distraction or disturbing intersection that detracts from the subject.

Many artists like to design their artwork around a specific structure, such as an “L,” “Z,” “J,” or “O,” or diagonals, spirals, triangles, or circles.

In the watercolor below, Amanda Schuster painted foxes playing inside a circular structure.

Artist: Amanda Schuster

Above, I’ve structured this landscape around a “Z” shape, or diagonals.

Landscapes

Landscapes are a great introductory subject for beginners, as many of the basic principles of design can be applied to them. Landscapes also happen to be one of my favorite subjects to paint! I enjoy the limitless options, from simple designs to more complex concepts. They can be made impactful using some of the most basic design ideas, as in this example in which I recreated one of Claude Monet’s famous landscapes of Argenteuil.

In his painting, Monet placed the horizon in the bottom third and the large section of trees in the right third of the painting, creating balance and setting the perspective through a simple J-shaped composition. Monet often repeated this design concept, placing the horizon line in the bottom third of the canvas and a vertical object on the right or left third of the painting.

One of the keys to being purposeful with your journey as an artist is mastering a design and structure and finding ways to recreate an existing concept using different subjects. In the next example, a painting called Shaded, I used the J-shaped design concept with my own subjects. The structure is similar to the one inspired by Monet’s painting (left), but I ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Getting Started
• Composition
• Planning a Design
• Subjects of a Design
• Turning Photos Into Extraordinary Paintings
• Closing Thoughts
• About the Artist
• Copyright