KAROL OAKLEY, Master Pastellist PSA, International Artist & Tutor OAKLEY FINE ART
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The Curious Artist Blog.

Your blog all about painting.

Composition

4/3/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture
Blog #5   Composition Wing It or Plan It?

It can be argued that a planned composition kills creativity. If we think about this, the artist who wings it, goes straight in and paints. These artists don't think through or plan their composition. Some people call this fluking it, others call it amazing or a true artistry.

Consciously they don’t, subconsciously they do think about planning the composition. The ability, the knack of getting a painting balanced and looking right belongs to both an artist who plans, as much as it belongs to a ‘fluked’ result for any other artist.

As artists we have a tendency to see, feel, know, what looks right. It is an innate skill. When we take photos we compose through the camera lens. This isn’t a conscious or deliberately thought most of the time, we are not voicing that we are ‘composing that shot’. In saying this, there are some who do, who deliberately do just this. They plan and compose the  shot ready for a painting reference. 

That photo reference is usually copied exactly how it was taken, into a painting.  Why?  It looks right, and its got all the info needed for a painting. The answer to composition here is to wing it, go with what’s up front, ready to use.

Artists with perhaps more experience will take that reference photo and pull it apart.  They will do some thumbnails sketches to find the best composition, that tells the story, that shows the viewer what they saw and felt at the moment the photo was taken. The structure of the painting is designed to be balanced, it is composed. Usually small thumbnail size sketches are the method for this sorting out of the design. They are quick and too small to include details.  This is planning it. 

So do you wing it or plan it? 

How do you go about planning for your painting? There are aids available for composition in the form of apps to use on the camera phone but first of all the artist needs to understand the rules of composition and how they can work.
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​Are you going to do something toward learning more about composition? 
Best wishes in your painting endeavours, Karol 

2 Comments
Gerane
5/3/2022 11:38:07 am

I wing it
I paint from photo mostly
And trust that nature got it right
Light and shade is important I n taking my photos

Reply
Maxine Thompson
6/3/2022 01:35:29 pm

When I do quick portraits of animals in 15 to 20 minutes, I don’t spend any time doing thumbnail sketches. However, I think ‘on my feet’ about capturing the expression of that character, and the proportions and strokes that capture the likeness.
When I spend more time and want more accuracy, I do several thumbnail sketches to determine which best captures the character and creates the more satisfying artwork.

Reply



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    ​​The Curious Artist Blog-
    talks about everything and anything to do  with painting.
    It's my aim to share techniques, tips, tricks, adventures, products, paintings, educate, inspire and foster the appreciation of painting.
    I welcome your feedback and questions and don't promise to post regularly, but to let you know when I do post .
    ​I'l give it my best shot to answer  your questions and if I can't I'll let you know. Gee I may even be able to give you the name of someone who can answer.
    Either way this blog is about art, artists and everything to do with painting and drawing, being informative, heck maybe even inspiring,  all aimed at making painting enjoyable. I sincerely wish you to join me on this adventure.  best wishes, Karol

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    Karol Oakley
    A Master Pastellist who loves to talk about pastel and anything to do with arty stuff and painting in general .

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Karol Oakley is a Professional Artist and member of :
The Pastel Society of Australia (PSA)
Australian Guild of realist Artists (AGRA)
National Association of Visual Artists (NAVA)
Pastel Society of Southern California

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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Online Pastel Learning
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  • Contact
  • About
    • Awards
  • Events
  • Testimonials
  • Artist In Residence
  • 5x5" Paintings to Collect