making things interesting

In the previous chapter, we learned that visual arrangements are inherently expressive. Due to our natural impulse to give meaning to things in our environment, all designs evoke an emotional response. But not all of these arrangements are aesthetically pleasing. Some visual arrangements are more interesting than others, or are more pleasurable to look at.

What makes things visually interesting?
In a word, variation.

By following the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same you introduce the variety needed to make your pictures interesting and pleasing. By varying the intervals between the divisions of your painting, by varying the intervals between the objects depicted, by varying the dimensions of the shapes you make, and by varying the placement of things shown, you make your painting more appealing to the eye.

In this chapter, we will look at how applying the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION to as many aspects of your painting as possible will make your work visually interesting and almost guarantee that your compositions will be successful.

dividing the boundaries of your painting

The edge or frame of a visual image creates the illusion of space within that boundary. Even a blank canvas suggests space, albeit undefined in any way. Draw a line or any mark on that blank canvas and the pictorial space within the frame is more defined. Draw a line across a rectangle and the line could be the sea meeting the sky, an edge of a table, the bottom of a wall or window.

How you divide the rectangle should follow the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same.

Boring
Dividing a picture in half is boring. Placing the horizon in the middle of a landscape is too dull. Neither sky nor ground dominates.

Interesting: ground is dominant
When the picture is divided unequally, the intervals are not the same. Placing the horizon about a third from the top makes the ground dominant and creates more interest.

Interesting: sky is dominant
Placing the horizon about a third from the bottom makes the sky dominant.

Boring
Dividing a picture into equal parts violates the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION. Don’t divide a landscape into bands of equal width.

Enhance visual interest

Almost any equal division of your picture will be boring; for example, dividing a picture with a line that goes from corner to corner on the diagonal. Although one side is not the mirror image of the other, it still creates regular intervals and is therefore boring. Any division of space is an opportunity to enhance visual interest.

Boring
Don’t divide a picture into equal halves, as does a diagonal from corner to corner.

Better
Although not corner to corner, this oblique divides the picture into equal halves. The line divides each side into lengths of the same proportion.

Best
This oblique divides the rectangle into unequal portions. The distance from the top to the line on the right is not equal to the distance from the bottom to the line on the left.

Boring
Placing a mountain peak in the exact center with sides of equal length violates the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same.

Better
Placing the peak off-center makes it more interesting. However, the sides of the rectangle are divided into the same intervals.

Best
In this arrangement, no two intervals are the same. The sides of the mountain are different lengths, the peak is off-center, and the sides of the rectangles are divided into four different lengths.

Boring
The sides and angles are equal and they divide the rectangle in half in this example. It is monotonous and boring.

Better
This mountain skyline is nearly as boring because the peaks are spaced equally, are of the same angle, and have sides of the same length.

Best
This skyline is more interesting because the angles and the lengths of the sides are varied.

interesting boundary divisions

The paintings on this page are good examples of interesting divisions of a rectangle. These landscapes are divided into unequal intervals by the horizon line and other horizontal lines. Applying the One Rule: Never make any two intervals the same by placing major divisions of your picture at unequal distances is an effective way of making your pictures more interesting.

High horizon line
The horizon line is high in this painting, increasing the drama of the farm buildings silhouetted against the sky.

Last Glow Donald W. Patterson 13" x 20" (33cm x 51cm) Watercolor and gouache on paper

Multiple horizon bands
This composition is divided into several horizontal bands of varying widths echoing the strata of the canyon walls.

Canyon Lands Frank LaLumia 20" x 24" (51cm x 61cm) Watercolor on paper

Low horizon line
The horizon line is low in this painting, making the sky dominant. The sun is equidistant from the sides, a relatively inactive placement, that is appropriate for the calm sunset depicted.

Estuary Light Robert Reynolds 24" x 20" (51cm x 61cm) Watercolor on paper

dividing the space between objects

Let’s look at how the intervals or spaces between objects makes the objects more attractive to the eye. How things are arranged relative to each other determines the degree of interest generated for the viewer.

In the examples on this page, the spacing is increasingly irregular. The visual interest increases with added variation.

Boring
Even spacing is the least interesting arrangement.

Better
Adding some variation to the spacing adds interest, but there is still a regular pattern.

Best
No intervals are the same, slowing the eye’s ability to detect a pattern when scanning.

Vary width
Varying the width of the lines adds more variety and interest.

Vary orientation
Varying the orientation disrupts the monotonous parallel arrangement and increases interest.

Vary all the intervals
Varying the intervals between the lines, their alignments and their widths generates much more visual activity.

varied spacing adds interest

This page shows a sequence of panels which illustrates how spacing and detailing adds interest to a row of trees. Notice how boring and contrived the regularly spaced row of pine trees appears when compared to the much more natural-looking arrangement of trees in the other panels. The rule at work here applies to other objects as well. A row of evenly-spaced wine bottles in a still life would be dull, too.

Boring
Avoid the repetitive spacing of elements.

Better
A repeating pattern of varied intervals is more interesting, but still predictable.

Best
The more varied the spacing and thickness of trunks is, the more natural and interesting the pattern.

Boring
This spacing is artificial.

Better
By varying intervals of distance, length and angle, interesting variety is introduced.

Best
This spacing is much more interesting than the previous examples. It looks natural.

creating interesting shapes

Every shape in your paintings should be an interesting shape. In general, complex shapes are more interesting than simple shapes; a shape with varying dimensions is more interesting than one without. A shape with an oblique diagonal thrust is more interesting and dynamic than one that parallels the edges of the surrounding frame. A shape with projections and indentations is more interesting than one that is convex. The more a shape complies with the One Rule: Never make any two intervals the same the more interesting it becomes.

Boring
These shapes are boring. A square has equal sides and angles, as does an equilateral triangle. The intervals from the center of a circle to the circumference are by definition equal.

Better
By varying one dimension, a boring geometric shape becomes more interesting. An oval or rectangle is longer than it is wide. An isosceles triangle is taller than its width.

Best
By varying more intervals or dimensions, shapes become increasingly more interesting. Orienting shapes so they are not parallel to the horizon adds even more interest.

Increase visual energy
Adding “innies and outies” to a shape adds visual energy. A shape with projections and indentations is more interesting than one that is convex.

interesting shapes in common objects

Any object that resembles one of the boring shapes (a circle, square or equilateral triangle) will also be boring. Boring shapes are sometimes hard to detect. A circular flower, a triangular sail or a square window might not be immediately noticed, but each represents an opportunity to add excitement to your painting. In the examples on this page, a boring object is transformed into an interesting object by applying the One Rule: Never make any two intervals the same.

Boring
A circular tree is just plain dull.

Better

Best
A variety of innies and outies creates interest.

Boring
A house with sides of equal length is pretty boring.

Better

Best
An oblique thrust to the house makes it more dynamic.

interesting shapes: applied

An interesting composition contains varying intervals and interesting shapes. These two paintings were done in very different styles, yet both are replete with interesting shapes. Both are worth studying to see how they comply with the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same.

Complex shapes
The shapes in this painting have sides and angles of different dimensions. They are not parallel to the frame, and they have projections that interlock with the shapes around them.

Cascais Frank Webb 22" x 30" (56cm x 76cm) Watercolor on paper

Simple shapes
Both the dark shapes of the water and the white shapes of the snow vary in size and dimension. No two shapes have the same length or width. While this is a simple painting, it is not at all dull!

#5 Jack Reid 28" x 38" (71cm x 97cm) Watercolor on paper

creating interesting groupings

The ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same also applies to how elements are grouped in various arrangements. A grouping of objects—be they trees, bottles or people—of the same size and with equal spacing is boring.

Odd numbers are more interesting than even numbers. Things that come in threes, fives and sevens especially are more intriguing for the mind, perhaps because it doesn’t know what to do with the “one left over.” A triangle or pentagon is inherently more interesting than a square because it has an uneven number of sides.

Edgar Whitney, a popular twentieth-century watercolor instructor, had a knack for summing up useful painting concepts in short, memorable sayings known amongst watercolorists as “Whitneyisms.” One of his favorite design tricks was to create shapes that were proportioned as “Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear.” Like the three bears, one shape was large, one was medium and one was small, but they were never arranged in that order. Instead, “Papa Bear,” the largest shape, was placed in the middle of the other two, hence “Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear!”

Uneven groupings provide interest
The farm structures in this watercolor are interesting because there is no regular, predictable pattern. They are grouped in odd numberings, such as three silos, five buildings and so on. The sizes of the structures and the spacing between them are all different, providing a lot of variety that entertains the eye and mind.

Wintry Sunset Donald W. Patterson 18" x 27" (46cm x 69cm) Watercolor and gouache on paper

Boring: even steps down in size
The figures are all different in height so there is some variety, but the step-down pattern is boring.

Boring: symmetrical arrangement
Shape, color and texture add interest, but this symmetrical arrangement is still static.

Boring: trees are the same height
Odd numbers are more interesting than even. Three is the smallest odd number that is inherently interesting. However, the trees are all the same height, a boring arrangement.

Better: more dynamic arrangement
Putting the taller figure to one side in an asymmetrical arrangement is more dynamic.

Better: asymmetrical arrangement
Placing the taller object to one side creates a more dynamic, asymetrical arrangement.

Better: tree height varies
This is better: the middle tree is now taller, but it is still a static, symmetrical arrangement.

Even better: mama, papa, baby
These three trees correspond to Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear. This is a pleasing grouping and complies with the ONE RULE:Never make any two intervals the same.

Best: different heights and spacing
This is a variation of the three bears. Not only are the three trees of different heights, they are no longer equidistant.

Grand Rivers, Trinidad Charles Reid 24" x 18" (61cm x 46cm) Watercolor on paper