landscapes

Nature rarely supplies us with perfect compositions. As artists, it’s our privilege (or duty) to improve on nature. Rather than produce an exact copy of what we see before us, we need to adjust the composition to make a more interesting painting. This is an advantage painters have over photographers: the photographer does not have the ability to move a few trees around in his viewfinder, but the painter can add, move or eliminate trees, buildings and clouds if it will make a better picture.

As artists, we can rearrange landscapes

to comply with the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same.

The time to make decisions about how to improve on nature is before you start to paint. Use your sketchbook to make a preliminary study of both the placement of elements in your painting and the overall value pattern. Once you have started to paint, making changes becomes harder and your willingness to do them decreases. Better to plan your composition before you begin to put paint on paper or canvas.

make use of photographs

A great way to practice applying the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION to landscapes is to use photographs and an adjustable composition finder made up of two cardboard ells. Most artists take advantage of photographic sources for information for their studio work. Time is often too limited to allow for recording all we need to paint from in a sketchbook alone.

Back in the studio, use photographic references judiciously lest they become a hindrance to your progress as a painter. Simply copying from a photo teaches you little and renders disappointing results.

Use your own photos

If you use your own work to begin with, you won’t be tempted to plagiarize. This exercise will make you a much better photographer because you’ll quickly see how to improve your photos while you are looking through the viewfinder. Because you are using images that you found personally attractive in the first place, you’ll find working with them more interesting and the results will be uniquely your own.

try different ways to frame your subject

Two cardboard ells
Make two ells out of black cardboard or poster board. Use a ruler or protractor to get reasonably accurate right angles. Cut the ells 25" (6cm) wide, with each leg about 10" (25cm) long.

The two ells clipped
Paperclip two homemade ells together to make an adjustable frame for finding the best composition on a snapshot.

The two ells on top of a photograph
Use the ells to frame your photographs in various ways. Snapshots are fine; no fancy cameras or equipment are needed. Experiment with different placements of the frames to find the most interesting composition. You’ll probably find several that work well. Keep adjusting the ells to find the best (that is, most interesting) placement of lines or objects in the picture. Make a quick sketch of the ones you like.

Transfer your composition

Make sketches of the compositions you have framed with the ells, or paperclip the ells to the pictures and use them to make a sketch on the canvas. If you get double prints when you have your film developed, you can take a black marker and mark right on the photo for later reference, or use scissors or a paper cutter to trim the photos down.

Reference photo
This lakeside scene was snapped while on vacation using an inexpensive 35mm camera with a zoom lens. As is often the case with spur-of-the-moment shots, there was little time for planning, especially since the figures were moving. However, the picture caught the light and mood, as well as plenty of information to paint from in the studio.

Bad crop
An almost-square format is awkward because it makes it difficult for the artist to avoid equal intervals. In this framing, the figure on the right is in the center, while the figure on the left is too close to the left edge. The figure on the left is also looking out of the frame, which directs attention out of the picture. Also, the picture does not show enough of the beach to establish the locale.

OK crop
The figures are still somewhat centrally located, but there is a more dynamic relationship between them and the edges. The figures are large enough to balance the space they are in. Also, the diagonal lines in the background generate enough excitement to make this composition acceptable.

Best crop
Both figures are now placed so the distances between them and the four edges are all unequal. The horizon line is comfortably off-center. The diagonal lines in the background are interesting and do not run into the corners. The girl on the left is the primary focal point because of the contrast between her skirt and the sand. The white tree trunk directly above her head should be moved to either side so it is not related to the figure vertically.

an alphabet of landscape composition

An easy way to remember some handy patterns for your landscape compositions is to think of composition based on letter forms. Almost any letter form can be the basis for a good design if you remember to apply the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION. However, the most useful letters are J, O, T, X, C, L, U, and S.

J Composition
Think of this as a lazy J or swoosh that can appear as shown, backward and upside down. The curved bowl of the J is a good place for the center of interest. Here, the bowl is located at one of the sweet spots.

T Composition
A vertical and horizontal crossing in a composition creates a natural focal point at the point of intersection. The quadrants created by the crossing should vary in dimension to maximize visual interest.

O Composition
This composition is more or less circular, but not centered exactly in the middle of the painting rectangle.

X Composition
Compositions based on the letter X include those that have lines radiating from a single point. Make sure that linear elements radiating outward do not go directly into a corner, forming in effect an invitation for the viewer’s eye to exit the picture.

C Composition
The letter C can be thought of as a half or open O. Don’t situate the opening right at the center.

U Composition
The uprights of the letter U (or V) can be used to frame a center of interest. Be careful, however, to avoid making both sides equal, which is boring. Make one side larger, more dominant or dynamically balanced than the other.

L Composition
The L can be turned around or upside down. It’s important to keep one side of the L longer than the other. Equal lengths would be boring.

S Composition
The letter S, as written or as its mirror image, is a natural lead into a composition. The classic example is a road curving into the picture.

basic value patterns for landscapes

A successful landscape, like all good compositions, will be based on a strong pattern of values. Because nature doesn’t always present us with easy-to-recognize patterns, it helps to know what to look for. Look for patterns based on the alphabet of landscape compositions (see previous pages), which are all based on strong shapes of contrasting tonal values. Contrast and variation are the inevitable products of the application of the One Rule: Never make any two intervals the same.

Tony Couch, a well-known contemporary watercolorist and master of applying the rules of design to create effective composition, noted in his best-selling book, Watercolor: You Can Do It! (North Light Books, 1987), some very useful value patterns for landscape composition.

Creating areas of value contrast

Couch identified six basic patterns for landscapes (see art below). These patterns help you simplify a landscape into three distinct areas of value contrast. Each has three grounds: foreground, middle ground and background.

• Two have light foregrounds, two have light middle grounds and two have light backgrounds.

• Two have mid-value foregrounds, two have mid-value middle grounds and two have mid-value backgrounds.

• Two have dark foregrounds, two have dark middle grounds and two have dark backgrounds.

Dark foreground, mid-value middle ground and light background.

Light foreground, dark middle ground and mid-value background.

Dark foreground, light middle ground and mid-value background.

Mid-value foreground, dark middle ground and light background.

Light foreground, mid-value middle ground and dark background.

Mid-value foreground, light middle ground and dark background.

Contrast values using large and small shapes

Couch also identified two other useful value patterns that are almost guaranteed to produce successful compositions. These are similar to the patterns shown in chapter 2. Both patterns include a large shape against a mid-value background. In one, the large shape is dark; in the other, it is light. Inside both is a much smaller shape in contrasting value. This contrasting shape is a natural focal point. These patterns fit the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same. The large shape and small shapes against the even larger mid-value background automatically create a pleasing variety of shapes and values. These sets of patterns are worth remembering because they ensure an interesting composition. The trick to using them is to do a thumbnail sketch of your painting or drawing no larger than a post card. It can be a simple line drawing or a gestural scribble. You must fill in the tonal values; don’t rely on your imagination or memory.

Maui Frank LaLumia 22" x 30" (56cm x 76cm) Watercolor on paper

Dark on middle value
This painting is built on the pattern of dark shape (the rocks) on a mid-value background (the foliage), with a light shape (the waterfall). This painting fits our Mostly, some and a bit formula: it is mostly mid-value, some dark and a bit of light.

Island Scarecrow James Dean 22" x 30" (56cm x 76cm) Gouache on paper

Light on middle value
This painting is built on a large light shape on a smaller mid-value background, with several spots of dark. The pattern is mostly light, some mid-value and bits of dark. If you made a three-step value scale with only black, gray and white in the same proportions, as in either painting on this page, you would see that the intervals dividing the value steps would not be the same.

perspective

Perspective used well will give your pictures a convincing sense of depth and enhance their believability. Proper perspective is important if your goal is pictorial realism. Inaccurate perspective will make your paintings “look wrong.”

Perspective can also be used to enhance the composition of your paintings. It can be used to create pointers that will guide the viewer’s eye along a path of your design. Perspective can be used to pull the viewer into the picture or point the eye toward a particular element.

The illusion that objects of the same size appear smaller as their distance from the observer increases makes linear perspective an ally in our efforts to create variety in a painting. For example, railroad rails are parallel; the interval between them is predictably the same. When seen in perspective, however, these rails no longer appear parallel, but appear to converge on the horizon. The interval appears to diminish, attracting the eye. Likewise, telephone poles in a row are at equal intervals, but perspective makes them appear closer together and smaller as they recede.

Atmospheric perspective

Not all perspective is linear. Atmospheric perspective contributes to the sense of depth or distance in a picture by suggesting the presence of intervening atmosphere between the foreground and distant background. Distant objects in a landscape will often appear cooler in color temperature and with less tonal contrast because of the dust or moisture particles suspended in the air. Atmospheric perspective can be used to keep distant things from competing with the center of interest because detail, color intensity and tonal contrast will be greatly reduced. As noted in chapter 7, sharp detail, defined edges, bright color, strong tonal contrast and rich texture are all things that make a center of interest or eye magnet, and are the very things obscured by atmospheric perspective.

Good use of perspective creates uneven intervals
The eye is pulled toward the horizon line by the train, with the distant plume of smoke as an anchor. The vanishing point (that point at which the parallel lines appear to converge) is more interesting compositionally when it is offset from the center of the painting. By placing it off-center, near one of the sweet spots, you’ll create intervals that are more irregular and more interesting.

Markers Ted Rose 12" x 16" (30cm x 41cm) Watercolor on paper Collection of Dr. Jay Caldwell

Distance can help establish uneven intervals Atmospheric perspective produces depth in a picture by suggesting the presence of intervening atmosphere between near and distant objects. Here, the background trees have been neutralized in color and value to suggest distance.

Summer Wildflowers Elizabeth Mowry 18" x 24" (46cm x 61cm) Pastel on paper

color in landscapes

When applied to color, the Mostly, some and a bit formula almost automatically creates a color scheme that complies with the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION. If the colors in a landscape are distributed equally, that is, if there are equal quantities of warm and cool colors, light and dark colors, pure and neutralized colors and so on, there will be no dominance and no variety—and therefore, no interest for the viewer.

keep an eye on color

Follow the formula
Frank’s painting is a good example of the Mostly, some and a bit distribution of color in a landscape. The picture is mostly cooler pastel colors, with some rich, bright blues in the mine buildings, with a bit of dark green in the trees for a contrasting accent.

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

A bit of contrast
This low-key painting features dominant colors that are dark and cool. In sharp contrast are the bold strokes of almost pure orange and red on the hull of the ship on the right and in its reflection, as well as the bright whites nearby. These strokes form a strong focal point, located at one of the sweet spots.

The Mimi and the Rana C.W. Mundy 16" x 20" (41cm x 51cm) Oil on canvas

Variety attracts the eye
A cool, dark foreground against a warm, light background forms the underlying color structure of Kevin’s painting. The eye is naturally attracted to the sunlit building along the waterfront, but the strokes of rich color on the foreground boats balance them nicely. If the colors were either all bright or all dark, or all cool or all warm, the eye quickly would become fatigued and would seek relief outside the composition.

Cast Shadows of Cassis Kevin Macpherson 16" x 20" (41cm x 51cm) Oil on canvas

Value and texture entertain the eye
Colors in a landscape don’t have to be intense to be effective. This painting employs a subtle scheme that relies on value and texture as well as color to entertain the eye. The foreground is cooler and darker at the bottom and gets brighter and warmer toward the middle ground, carrying the eye to the dark greens that frame the aspen cluster in the background. The painting is divided by the dark edge of the background, and the narrow tree trunks on the right align almost exactly according to the Rule of Thirds.

Aspen Cluster J. Chris Morel 11" x 14" (28cm x 36cm) Oil on linen

Blue Stockings Joan Rudman, AWS 28" x 22" (71cm x 56cm) Watercolor on paper