with Joan Hansen
COMPOSITION IS SIMPLY the organization of objects in a harmonious design, and a good composition is eye-catching and dynamic. To start, I choose a format that fits my subject (see page 28). Then I establish a focal point, or center of interest, and I create a visual path that leads the viewer’s eye toward the focal point.
Leading the Eye
There are several ways to lead the eye through a painting. One method is to use curving lines to lead the eye to the center of interest. Another is to create strong contrasts of light and dark values that draw the eye in toward the focal point, as I have done in this painting of hollyhocks. As you compose your paintings, also keep in mind that light-valued flowers will stand out against a darker, less detailed background, and areas of intense color will always draw more attention.
PLACING THE FOCAL POINT I try to avoid placing the focal point directly in the center of the paper; that makes the composition stagnant and boring. Here the sunlit hollyhocks sit high in the upper center portion of the photo—and in my painting. When planning a composition, I draw a plot of my chosen format to determine where I should place the focal point. I sketch the outline and divide it into thirds horizontally and vertically. Then I draw circles where the lines intersect. These are the areas that will make good placements for the center of interest. For the hollyhock painting, I added a humming bird in one of the areas of interest to give the eye another place to go.
1 After completing the drawing, I mask out the veins in the leaves. Then I wet each leaf with clear water and charge in cadmium yellow, cobalt turquoise, ultramarine blue, mineral violet, and a mix of phthalo green and burnt sienna, letting all the colors blend naturally. When this stage is dry, I add darker values of the same colors and soften them with clear water. When completely dry, I remove the mask and stroke on a glaze of yellow-green over the veins.
2 Next I paint the flower stamens with dots of cadmium yellow pale, yellow ochre, and burnt sienna, softening the edges with clear water and letting them dry. Then I wet one petal at a time and add cobalt blue, cobalt turquoise, and mineral violet for the petal separations and cast shadows. I add yellow ochre for the folds in the flower centers and soften all the edges. Notice that I keep the values very light for the strongly sunlit areas.
3 I finish building the forms of the flowers, keeping the lighter values on the overlapping portion of the petals and the darker values underneath. Then I paint the hummingbird (see page 11) and mix a variety of warm and cool colors (see page 18) for the background. Starting from the bottom and working my way up, I wet the paper almost up to the edges of the petals and leaves. Then I charge in the background colors with a round brush, carrying the colors to the dry edges of the flowers and bird.
4 To finish, I add some darker values for contrast. This painting has all the elements of a good composition: the format fits the subject; the focal point is off-center; and the viewer’s eye is drawn into and around the painting but always toward the center of interest.
HUMMINGBIRD
1 For this tiny bird, I used a very small round brush (#0). I mixed a black from phthalo blue, burnt umber, and mineral violet for the beak, eye, chin, tail, and feet (in the next step). Then I highlighted the beak and eye with white gouache (see page 15).
2 Working from back to front with tiny strokes, I layer burnt sienna and a warm green, varying the placement of my strokes. I use mineral violet and permanent magenta on the throat and add gray strokes (watery black) on the breast.
After the first layer of color dries, I add the detail with the second layer of feathers and fine lines. I let the bird dry before painting the background around it, stroking just up to the edges, as I do for the flowers and leaves.