In this section I have to look at various theories of composition. In a previous post (Part 2 Project 1 Composition 1) I unwittingly jumped the gun and looked at this subject. I covered the drawing position of the artist, the Golden Triangle, vectors and balance. What I didn't cover was the Rule of Thirds and one or two others I've found.
I've used this website because its examples are very good:
I've used this website because its examples are very good:
The Rule of Thirds
Basically this theory divides the page into thirds both horizontally and vertically.
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| The Biglen Brothers Racing - Thomas Eakins, 1873 (1) |
The Biglen Brothers Racing shows this rule very well. The action is all on the grid lines, the treeline, the boat and the positioning of the rowers. The points of intersection are particularly good places to position items of importance.
This left me wondering how my work fits in with this rule. I took a sketch that I was pleased with and worked well compositionally and drew grid lines on it.
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| The Rule of Thirds |
This isn't as obvious as the Biglin Brothers. I can see that the centre of the upper window is bisected as is the top of the lower window. The lower window also aligns with the right hand line. The centre sector holds equal parts of the sail and the brickwork which I think is a sort of mini balance. I'm not sure how the sail stacks up with the theory but for me it works on an intuitive basis.
Rule of Odds
This is a rule that works for flower arranging, interior decor and all manner of arrangements. If there are three (or any odd number) of items the eye cannot settle into grouping so it continues to rove around the picture. |
| King Charles I of England - 1635-36 Anthony van Dyck (1) |
This is an interesting picture in several ways. First the Rule of Odds clearly applies and I can see the Rule of Three as well. The painting is actually three portraits of the King in three different profiles. In each one he is dressed differently but with the same collar. I wonder if he was unhappy with the profile on the right or whether it was van Dyke's artistry that put him slightly off square?
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| Rule of Odds |
Although this is by no means the same sort of image I can see that it is based on groups of three; settee, table, curtain. And taken a further step; table top, tissues, vase. Once again this is intuitive rather than deliberate and I suppose the skill is in the recognition and then the application of the theory.
The website I have used for this work also talks of "leading lines" and "diagonal lines". This is where the eye is guided by what is on the image. This is what is my previous work I learnt were called "vectors". Whatever name they go by the effect is one of distance.
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| Provencher's Mill at Moret - 1883 Alfred Sisley. |
Sisley's work has several strong leads towards the horizon; the buildings, the bank, the river bed and the bank on the right of the picture. Everything leads to the tall tree on the horizon.
I haven't done many landscapes but I've done a bit of a search for vectors in some recent ones:
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| Leading lines |
I'm not arrogant enough to compare myself to Sisley but this image also has many leading lines to take the eye into the distance. There is a very clear point at which they converge and that is indicated by the diminishing height of the trees and the tapering of the road.
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| Leading lines |
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| Leading lines |
The windmill is a different proposition entirely although I can see leading lines in the way the black building takes us upwards to the sails. The sails are on the diagonal and are all at different angles. I think this gives a feeling of movement.
Lines of sight
Lines of sight are when the painter has the subject looking at something in the distance arousing the viewers curiosity to look as well. |
| Christina's World, 1948 - Andrew Wyeth |
I know nothing about this painting but I feel a tension created by the way the artist has the subject almost prone looking apprehensively (?) at the house. There is the option to follow the paler line and go to the barn but the focus is very clearly on the house. There is a feeling of being adrift in a large space and what lies beyond? Sea, sky, who knows? It's very unsettling.
I was moved to look up some information about the painting:
The woman in the painting is Anna Christina Olson (3 May 1893 – 27 January 1968). She is known to have suffered from polio, a muscular deterioration that paralysed her lower body. Wyeth was inspired to create the painting when he saw her crawling across a field while watching from a window in the house. (2)
As something of an afterthought the Rule of Odds applies here.
I have no drawings that use this device but I can see the dramatic potential.
Simplify
This idea as a compositional device is new to me but very appealing. The example the website uses is by Turner and just stunning. It's hard to believe it was painted nearly 200 years ago.
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| Colour Beginning 1819 - J M W Turner. |
The Tate was left this work in the Turner bequest and has several similar which seem to be underwashes. I have asked people what they see in Colour Beginnings and each one sees something different. I think it's dawn but maybe Turner intended to be non specific.
The Rule of Thirds is evident but only in the horizontal plane.
I know how hard it can be to get water colour to blend just right but a painting I did with Stephen Coates emphasises simplicity:
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| Simplicity - colour wash and red sail |
Here there is no horizon just a graduated wash. The side ripples in Payne's Grey give the picture some depth.
The learning from this additional work is important not only for its intrinsic merit but for the confidence boosting value as well. Whilst my academic learning no doubt filters in I find that I have been using these principles intuitively rather than by design. I need to pay much more heed when I set up a drawing and consciously think about what I'm doing not just "allow" it to happen.
(1) http://www.slideshare.net/mrsbauerart/theories-of-composition
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina%27s_World
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