by Greg Albert
#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
achieving dynamic balance
In this chapter, we will explore how the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same can be used to create dynamic balance. We have already seen how complexity in a design creates visual tension. That tension creates interest in a composition, providing the stimulus that activates our attention.
However, too much complexity invites visual chaos, which is unpleasant to look at. We need to find the right balance between boring order and distressing disorder. Too much variation causes a painting to lose unity. Not enough variation causes a painting to lose interest.
A composition needs variation to be interesting,
but that variation needs to be balanced to be coherent. What is needed is dynamic balance.
the importance of balance
Balance is a key part of creating a pleasing composition. Imbalance is disconcerting or distracting, so an unbalanced composition can make the viewer feel uncomfortable. There is a reason for the expression “mentally unbalanced”: the psychological feeling of being out of balance is as unpleasant as the physical one. Lack of balance suggests incompleteness, irresolution and unpredictability.
A composition lacks balance if its components do not require the viewer’s eye to cross over a central axis. If all the visual activity is concentrated on one side of the composition, the viewer has no reason to look from one side to the other. The sense of incompleteness this creates upsets our equilibrium.
If the visual activity is equal or identical on either side of the axis, a static balance is achieved. No visual tension is created and little interest is generated.
Unbalanced
If all the visual activity is on one side of a central axis, the viewer’s eye is not required to cross over, and a sense of imbalance is created.
Static balance
If all the visual activity is situated on the central axis (far left), or if the visual activity is identical on both sides of the axis (near left), a static balance is created.
Cross over the central axis
When all the visual energy is concentrated in only half of the picture (far left), the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION is violated. The viewer’s eye does not cross over the central dividing line and an unbalanced, unattractive composition results.
By locating an element with visual energy on the other side of the central axis, the viewer’s eye crosses over it and a dynamic balance is achieved (near left).
Diagonal axis
The central axis is not always vertical. Locating all the visual activity on one side of a diagonal dividing line creates an unbalanced composition (far left).
This painting (near left) shows how locating an element with visual energy on the other side of the diagonal axis creates a dynamic balance.
When the visual energy is not identical, visual tension is generated and a dynamic balance is achieved. In such a composition we find visual activity that is pleasing to our aesthetic sense.
Energy in balance
In A Place in the Mountains, most of the visual energy is on the right. However, the eye is induced to cross over the central axis by the figure and buildings in the lower-left corner. Their very size invites attention. The trees on the left form a block to redirect the eye back into the composition. Together, the figure, houses and trees counterbalance the much larger and more visually active house on the right.
A Place in the Mountains Margaret M. Martin 22" x 30" (56cm x 76cm) Watercolor on paper
A delicate balance
The extreme perspective of the passenger cars on the right pulls the eye into the picture to the focal point of the composition, the distant locomotive. The plume of smoke and the triangular cloud above also direct the eye to that point. The trackside structures on the left balance the visual energy on the right half of the composition. Though small in comparison to the dominant shape of the train, they are sufficient to keep the picture from looking lopsided. These structures also have the important function of keeping the eye from exiting the picture to the left. Without them, the dramatic convergence of the oblique lines from the right would create a velocity strong enough to propel the eye out of the composition.
Westbound, With Mail Ted Rose 12" x 16" (30cm x 41cm) Watercolor on paper Collection of Jay and Linda Jacobs
static versus dynamic balance
Achieving balance is a matter of adjusting visual weight and visual energy. If balance is created with visual elements identical in both weight and energy on either side of a central axis, a static balance is achieved. Static balance does not follow the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION:Never make any two intervals the same.
If the balance is created with two visual elements that are not identical in weight and energy, a dynamic balance is achieved. Intervals are not the same and the ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION applies.
Static balance is also called formal, classical or symmetrical balance because it is based on an equal or even (symmetrical) arrangement al
ong a central axis.
Dynamic balance is also called informal or asymmetrical balance and is based on an uneven arrangement.
Static balance
When children of the same weight are equidistant from the center, they balance perfectly and the seesaw remains level.
Dynamic balance
If one child is bigger and both are equidistant from the center, the seesaw doesn’t remain level. To keep the seesaw level, the bigger child must move closer to the center, or the smaller child farther from the center.
Symmetrical arrangement
Avoid centering things. The center is the most boring part of the painting. Symmetrical compositions are naturally static.
Asymmetrical arrangement
Although the image is still centralized, the tree and house are asymmetrically arranged and visual interest is increased.
Static balance
The tree and the house have identical visual weight and energy. A static balance is created.
Dynamic balance
The house and tree on the left have greater visual weight, but the house and tree on the right counterbalance the weight, creating a dynamic balance.
Central but asymmetrical subject
Although the subject matter is centralized in this composition, the elements are asymmetrically arranged, creating visual interest. If Frank had placed a figure on both sides of the tree, a more static and less interesting arrangement would have resulted.
Spring Plowing Frank Nofer, AWS 9" x 12" (23cm x 30cm) Watercolor on paper
Color and weight are dynamically balanced
The small red bird on the left perfectly counterbalances the dark mass of thickets on the right. The viewer’s eye crosses the central axis back and forth, creating great visual interest.
Beyond the Thicket Frank Nofer, AWS 14" x 27" (35cm x 69cm) Watercolor on paper
balancing visual weight and energy
Dynamic balance is achieved by adjusting the visual weight and energy of a painting’s components so there is enough variation to be interesting, but not so much that the picture loses coherence. If the components are equal in terms of visual weight and energy, a boring static balance occurs. If the components are too dissimilar or unequal, an imbalance will occur.
Two components can be dynamically balanced by adjusting their visual weight or visual energy. A visually heavy element can be countered by a sufficiently energetic element. Size, color, complexity and many other characteristics can be adjusted to create a visually exciting balance. For example, a brightly colored or strongly textured object can balance a larger, but dull-colored or untextured shape.
Weight
The larger shape on the left is balanced by the heavier, smaller, darker shape on the right.
Energy
The larger shape on the left is balanced by the smaller shape with greater visual energy on the right.
Color
The larger, cooler shape is balanced by the smaller, warmer red shape on the right.
Texture
The larger flat shape is balanced by the smaller shape with greater texture on the right.
Complexity
The more complex pattern on the right counterbalances the simpler shape on the left.
Gradation
The solid shape on the left is counterbalanced by the gradation in the opposite corner.
Distance
The sheer expanse of space on the right of this elongated frame counterbalances the weight of the shape on the left.
Detailed water counterbalances the center of interest
The center of interest of this composition is concentrated in the lower-right corner. If not for the visual activity of the ripples and reflections in the rest of the painting, it would be lopsided, inviting the eye to fall out of the picture through the lower right. The artist used the concentric rings of rippling water to pull the eye back in.
First Impressions Jeffrey J. Watkins 11" x 14" (28cm x 36cm) Watercolor on paper
Distance and space counterbalance color
The red dress has both visual weight and energy, with no other object to the right for balance. Therefore Frank included the expanse of wall and building to balance it. Because the figure faces left and appears to be moving toward the left, our attention would drawn out of the composition if not for the counterweight of space on the right.
The Lady in Red Frank Nofer, AWS 10" x 19" (25cm x 48cm) Watercolor on paper
Pumpkin Time Rod Lawrence 10" x 7" (25cm x 18cm) Acrylic on panel Private collection
pleasing the eye
In this chapter, we will look at how viewers are most likely to scan your painting. With this information, you will be able to consciously determine the path that the viewer’s eye will follow as it investigates your picture. If you manage to attract and retain your viewer’s attention while pleasing or fascinating him, your painting will be a compositional success.
Good composition is the result of conscious planning on your part. It doesn’t happen by accident. The time to do this conscious planning is before you start to paint. You need to
carefully consider how the viewer is going to look at your painting, and design the painting accordingly.
How and why we look at something is the basis for our ONE RULE OF COMPOSITION: Never make any two intervals the same. When the intervals vary, the eye has more to scan. If too many of the intervals are the same, the viewer can figure out the pattern quickly and move on without an entertaining exploration. With a variety of intervals, the viewer’s eye must trace through the picture. Unable to discern the pattern at first glance, it lingers to figure it out. This game amuses the eye. It’s fun and that makes the painting more interesting.
path of the eye
The viewer’s eye follows a definite path through the painting as it is scanned. The artist can use strategies to deliberately control this path. Our job as artists is to make the path as interesting and as enduring as possible. We don’t want to create an easy exit for the viewer’s eye; we want to invite a long and pleasantly entertaining stay within the boundaries of the painting. We also want to create in the viewer the desire to return for another look.
When a child learns to read, he learns to start at the upper left of the page and moves down toward the right. After twelve years of schooling and a lifetime of reading, starting in the upper left becomes an ingrained habit. Because this is such a strong tendency, we usually look at a painting by scanning it the same way. The upper-left corner then is a good entry point for the viewer.
Going from upper left to lower right
Most people would describe this line as going from the upper left down to the right. Why? Because it aligns with the visual path we usually follow as we read, from upper left to lower right.
Going from lower left to upper right
Most people see this line as going up from the lower left to the upper right because reading from the right to the left contradicts the normal path of the eye.
Left to right
These lines “go with the grain,” that is, they seem to follow the eye’s tendency to scan from left to right.
Countering the norm
These lines counter the normal path of the eye and therefore look more energetic.
compositional “magnets”
A good painting has to be about something. It must have a specific subject that attracts and holds the viewer’s attention. Without a subject, a painting appears empty or incomplete, quickly boring the viewer.
Every painting needs to have one main area of interest, the reason the painting was created in the first place. The painting can evoke a mood, express emotion or inspire some reaction in the viewer, but it does that by making a statement about its subject. Even a nonrepresentational painting needs a main area of interest to avoid being glorified wallpaper.
In other words, every picture needs a dominant feature that acts as both a magnet and an anchor. As a magnet, it must be an almost irresistible attraction that pulls th
e viewer in. As an anchor, the dominant feature keeps the eye from drifting away once it has been captured. A painting does this by being both visually and psychologically compelling.
Magnets for the viewer are of two types: a focal point and a center of interest. The focal point of a painting is the spot that attracts the eye of the viewer because it is visually appealing. The center of interest is the spot that attracts the mind of the viewer because it is intellectually appealing.
Lead the eye
In this painting, the viewer is first attracted to the strongest eye magnet, the fish’s mouth, which is the main center of interest. Once it has gathered information about that area of the picture, the eye quickly moves on to another eye magnet, the fly. Then it will go to the next most interesting point, the splash of water to the right. From there it will follow the curve of the fish’s bottom back to its mouth, from which the circulatory path through the picture originated.
Rainbow Trout Rod Lawrence 7" x 10" (18cm x 25cm) Acrylic on panel Private collection
center of interest
The center of interest is a magnet for the mind. It is where the viewer wants to look to find information. Two elements may be visually identical in terms of contrast or energy, but if one offers more meaning, that is where the viewer looks first.
