My Composition and Design project

This year I'm going to remind people about what I've got in the archives of Making a Mark. I'm going to start with my Composition and Design Project which I started in January 2008

The future may be at the end......

Composition and Design Project - Blog Posts 

Below is a list of the various posts and a short explanation of what they're about.

Some of the hyperlinks these blog posts contain may be out of date and/or moved on to pastures new.

Fibonacci Spiral
Wikimedia Commons

• Composition and Design - An Introduction 14 Jan 2008

Design and Composition - I'm revisiting this topic to try and understand more about what different people have had to say about composition, what are the 'rules' and why breaking the rules also works. I intend to relate design and composition to specific subject matter (eg landscapes and flowers) and artists that I like and/or will feature this year - such as Degas. I'm starting the year with this topic as it underpins so much of what comes next. It will continue to run as theme throughout the year and I'll be referencing it in other areas of work during the rest of the year.
Katherine Tyrrell - "Making A Mark in 2008 - the Plan"

Singing the Blues

10" x 8", coloured pencil on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

• Composition - The Elements of Design 15 Jan 2008 - An overview of the Elements of Design which are Value, Colour, Shape, Form, Space, Line and Texture

It's amazing how many of us who don't have the benefit of a fine art degree seem to have managed to learn something about the different aspects of what's involved with composition and design without actually ever coming across the idea of the 'elements' and 'principles' of art/composition/design! Or at least that's my experience. I'd certainly never heard about these particular groups before starting this project. Maybe this is what they teach you if you do an Fine Art degree? ;)

• Composition - Principles of Design 16 Jan 2008 - This post focuses on balance, emphasis. harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, rhythm, unity and variety

There seems to be broad agreement that the following principles of design are important. These aren't rules - but it generally seems to be the case that you are more effective at breaking with a rule once you know about and understand it.

Mr and Mrs Andrews (about 1750) by Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788)
oil on canvas, 69.8 x 119.4cm
National Gallery, London

• Composition and Design - A Digest #1 21 Jan 2008 - This post lists and provides a synopsis of books about composition or books which have helpful sections about composition.

Dow is perhaps best known as a mentor to Georgia O'Keeffe and the man who literally "wrote the book" on composition. First published in 1899, this manual influenced generations of teachers and students.

The book arose out of Dow's studies of the approach to making art in different cultures and therein lies some of the real power of the book for me - particularly now in an age of instant global communication.

• Composition and Design - finding and creating a focal point 24 Jan 2008 - This post is about how to create a focal point in a picture. It provides a synopsis of various approaches used by artists to find and create a focal point.

When viewing a drawing or painting, the viewer's eye is led through the work. How the eye moves depends on how the eye scans visual information, cultural factors and how the drawing or painting has been designed using the elements and principles of composition. (this post)

Magnets for the viewer are of two types: a focal point and a centre of interest. The focal point of a painting is the spot that attracts the eye of the viewer because it is visually appealing. The centre of interest is the spot that attracts the mind of the viewer because it is intellectually appealing.
Greg Albert - The simple secret to better painting - Pleasing the eye

• Composition - the four most important lines 28 Jan 2008 - There are various views about how to crop a subject and a lot that can and has been said on this topic.

I have always been taught that the four most important lines in a painting are the edges of the paper or canvas which crop the image you are using as a subject.

There are various views about how to crop a subject and a lot that can and has been said on this topic. I've tried to touch on just a few of the issues to do with cropping below and have then suggested some tips at the end. I hope you find it food for thought!

• Composition - thinking in threes 29 Jan 2008 - The 'rule of thirds' is an approximation of the 'golden ratio'. This post provides a diagram comparison - using algebra and numbers of "the golden mean" and "the rule of thirds" plus identification of the 'sweet spot' area and how this can be used for the focal point

How the "Rule of Thirds" approximates to "The Golden Mean"
My diagram which compares "the golden mean" and "the rule of thirds"
plus identification of the 'sweet spot' area and how this can be used for the focal point
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

• Composition - using PS Elements to help with design This post is about using tools in Adobe Photoshop or PS Elements to help with your composition.

The first rule of working with photographs is don't copy the photograph!
For a start, photographs do not record values well and often also distort colours! You'll probably be familiar with the black holes known as shadows which you will often see in photographs.

Waterlily - notan in colour
coloured pencil on Arches HP, 5" x 5"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

• Composition - why tonal values and contrast are important 06 Feb 2008 - a review of how to see tones and create contrast and why they are so very important

Time and time again when entering a gallery, the painting which stands out from the crowd is the one which has a strong design and value pattern. Exactly the same thing happens when you sit viewing slides entered for a competition. Or if you visit an artist's website or shop/auction site and view thumbnail images in an online gallery. What you see initially is the abstracted pattern . Everything else - including all the detail - is subordinate in terms of impact.

Greyscale and Value Finder - you can buy these in various formats
and they're very useful!

• A little notan in the morning (12 Jan 2008 - an example of Notan - a drawing based on a digital manipulation of a photo of a tulip which I took last year. 
• You can read more about Notan in Learning about Notan #1, #2 and #3. 

• Composition: a range of perspectives 29 Feb 2008

I'm really pleased by how this project triggered others into investigating composition - my posts on this topic have been some of the most popular in the 2+ years since I started this blog. I think that shows that there is definite interest in how we can all improve our knowledge and skills in composition.

Daffodils #1

pen and ink and coloured pencils on Lana pastel paper, 14" x 11.5"
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

• The influence of Japanese Art 03 Mar 2008

Compositional devices learned from Japan
The Japanese opened people's eyes to news ways of organising subject matter within the pictue plane. I'm thinking along the lines of devoting individual posts to the use of:

• the silhouette
• the diagonal principle
• a grille pattern
• cut-off objects in the foreground
• assymetrical compositions - with large areas of empty space
• perspective use of stacks of layers and levels

• Principles of design and composition and ukiyo-e 12 Mar 2008

My intention was to do an overview about the principles informing the design of Japanese art and prints - but I'm overwhelmed and becoming aware of how absorbing this project might become! ...........So here are some initial impressions - accompanied by some images which reflect points being made. Remember I'm not an expert - this is documenting my journey of discovery.

• Also see: The concepts and characteristics of ukiyo-e and The elements of ukiyo-e

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Book Reviews - Composition and Design

When I started to prepare for this project I was struck by how few books there were - compared to other topics and media related topics - and how few references to composition and design on the Internet. So I'm hoping that this project will also be interactive and will, with your help, also make some progress in identifying good books and good websites. I've found some and you will know of others!

I also included subsequent posts reviewing books about composition and design.

• Greg Albert - The Simple Secret to Better Painting 17 Jan 2008 - The book I always recommend to people who want to learn more about composition and design is Greg Albert's "The simple secret to better painting"
• Composition and Design - A Digest #1 21 January 2008 -  - summary reviews of a number of books including Composition (Arthur Wesley Dow); Pictorial Composition (Henry Rankin Poore), The Elements of drawing (John Ruskin) and How to Read Paintings (Nadeije Laneyrie-Dagen).
• Mastering Composition - a recommended read 01 May 2008

At some point I may get around to finishing a website I started about Tips for Artists - which essentially provides a way of finding a way of indexing my archives in an organised way - plus all the other relevant information I've found in the last 19 years....

I may have to have think about publishing it in part finished form.

Part of the Home Page of Tips for Artists