Recommended resources on improving composition of your paintings

For Christmas 2014, my husband bought me, a set of resources from Ian Roberts on composition. The package included some DVDs (http://www.northlightshop.com/mastering-composition-with-ian-roberts) and a book entitled "Mastering Composition" (http://www.northlightshop.com/mastering-composition).

Composition is key to the success of a work of art in conveying its message and visually holding everything together. The way in which a painting is composed and the way in which the painting's elements work together form a coherent whole. The composition is an important part of the foundation of paintings.  If you're not convinced on how important composition is, watch which paintings hold the viewers eyes in galleries and museums.

When composition is done successfully, it will draw in the viewer and pull their eye across the whole painting so that everything is taken in and finally settles on the main subject of the painting – without being drawn out of the painting.

The book and DVDs by Ian Roberts are excellent resources because he is a great communicator of concepts. In the various resources, the author explains the essential points for understanding painting composition, one of the budding artist's most illusive challenges. However, what sets these resources apart is his excellent teaching methods. As an example, in one DVD, the author gives the reader a tour of paintings, showing in each what happens when he changes something in the painting. Thus the reader gets to see the effects of the changes, experiencing them in a hard-hitting way. You can watch this short video on YouTube to see his unique approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YDLhV24YOA

The book "Mastering Composition" begins with an excellent discourse on what composition is and how one can use the book to grow as an artist. It is very well written and includes practical rules to follow. In addition there are plenty of illustrated before and after demonstrations, as well as examples from Masters of the 19th and 20th Century.

Ian Robert’s book is organized around six subjects: Armatures - how to arrange shapes and how to create coherent flow; Abstract Masses - how to think in value masses not in subjects; Color Shapes - how these are all that we really have to create meaning, how to understand them and use them effectively to express our creative core; Guiding the eye through a picture plane; Gallery of the Greats - 19th and 20th Century Masters; and, Your Artistic Voice.

If you're struggling with composition, this book and DVDs are for you. If you know composition, they are still an excellent review.

Today's art find is Sandra Strohschein

 

Have a great week,

Danielle