INTO

COMPOSITION
A Painter’s Guide

JOHN KAY

The Millrind Press

 INTO
COMPOSITION
A Painter’s Guide

JOHN KAY

Boat at Wivenhoe

The Millrind Press

 INTO COMPOSITION
A Painter’s Guide
John Kay
Copyright © John Rowland Kay 2004
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form
or by means, electrical or mechanical, without express permis-
sion from the publisher.
A Selection of John Kay’s Paintings may be seen at his website:
http://www.millrind.co.uk
email: info@millrind.co.uk
Limited edition. Typeset in 11pt. Minion Pro. Designed,
printed and published by The Millrind Press
22 Hall Road. Fordham, Colchester Essex CO6 3NQ
ISBN 1 902194 07 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First I am indebted, as always, to the patience and kindness of my
wife Jennifer who has helped to edit and refine my prose.
I must gratefully thank Frank Webb who gave his kind permission
to reproduce his work. I owe a long lasting debt to all the artists of
the past and present whose work has inspired me. Lastly and not
least to the many skilful artists whose wisdom I have quoted and
whose example I have tried to follow.
Ars longa, vita breva.

John Kay

4
 Contents
1. Introduction ...............................................................7
What is a painting?...................................................8
What is composition?...............................................9
2. Aspects of Composition............................................11
Golden Section ......................................................11
Lines joining significant points .............................12
Centre of interest and sweet points .......................12
Rabatment ..............................................................14
Eye Line .................................................................14
Emphasis and contrast...........................................15
Dominance .............................................................15
Repetition & variation............................................17
Tonal balance..........................................................17
Linking the mid-tones............................................18
Strong verticals and horizontals.............................18
Rhythm of forms.....................................................19
Diagonal lines give action & dynamism ................20
Pointers to the centre of interest............................21
Compositional faults..............................................23
3. Working Methods ....................................................26
Planning .................................................................26
Using a viewfinder..................................................26
Sketching................................................................28
Tonal values - natural and stage set................29
Quick tonal sketches........................................29
Simplification.........................................................30
Photography ..........................................................33
From the sketch to the painting.............................35
Some practical advice:......................................36
5. The Process...............................................................39
Bibliography..................................................................42

5
 Canal lock near Birmingham

Tollesbury, Essex
6
 1. Introduction
This book is mainly about composition, how to recognise it and how best to use
it. It doesn’t matter which medium you use, composition is always a considera-
tion. I seek to explain the more practical and therefore the more obvious factors
of this fascinating subject but I will leave a fuller discussion to others.
There is a set of standards for composition shared by many great artists of the past
and a large number of practising artists today. These represent a consensus which
links good sense, good practice and sound judgement. They are a well-established
set of values, handed-down, preserved and developed which give direction,
coherence and mean-
ing to all art.
An awareness of the ba-
sics of composition
helps you to appreciate
this quality in other
people’s work and also
helps you to structure
you own work no mat-
ter how skilful your
drawing or your paint-
ing technique. I hope
Aldeburgh House, Suffolk this will lead you to a
greater satisfaction in
what you do.
Good composition is very important to painting. I work on location and in the
studio using sketches and photographs. I paint landscapes, townscapes and still
life mainly in watercolour with some mixed media but composition applies
equally to every medium and subject.
I do want to stress the importance of planning before a main painting is em-
barked upon. I find that a methodical approach does much to help me to make
sense of a situation where all the decisions seem to arise at the same time.

7
What is a painting?
Any study of painting should include an appreciation of the traditional emphasis
which, before the use of photography had two genuine rôles: to record the
appearance of people and objects and
to represent history and mythology.
Commissions by the rich and famous
enabled artists to earn a hard-won
living, something very difficult to do
nowadays.
In my view there are two aspects to
the definition of a painting, the philo-
sophical and the practical. Philosophi-
cally, it may be helpful to regard a
painting as an offering or submission Street scene, Cambridge
by the artist. The artist’s motivation
to paint could be equated with the need to share the delight of something which
has been found or discovered. Only in this case the discovery is through the
explorations and particular vision of the artist. Herbert Read commenting on the
distinction between art and nature wrote:
Most simply we might say that the artist in painting a landscape (and it is true of
whatever the artist does) is not seeking just to depict the visible appearance of the
landscape, but to tell us something about it. That something may be an observation or
emotion which we share with the artist but more often it is an original discovery of the
artist’s which he wishes to communicate to us. (READ, 1931)
This raises the question of how much attention the artist gives to detail. The
aspirations of many beginners are often based on their experience of looking at
photographs. This often results in paintings that are highly detailed all over.
If art were merely a record of the appearances of nature the closest imitation would be
the most satisfactory work of art and the time would be fast approaching when photog-
raphy should replace painting. (READ, 1931)
Photography has still not replaced painting nor ever will. An attempt to represent
objects and scenes exactly as the camera would record them, with every detail
clearly defined, evenly lit and focused is a lost opportunity for the painter to share
a personal vision and create something unique.
8
We are entitled to know where an artistic endeavour begins and ends, there
should be agreed borders, which define the area of professional responsibility. I
believe therefore it is essential that the edges of the painting are clearly indicated
and that is the purpose of a frame, it clearly defines that which is presented and
separates it from the wall and the surroundings in which it hangs. Within that
frame lies the work, so that there is no doubt in our minds as to the extent of what
is presented.
Some artists have challenged the concept of clearly defining the picture by
continuing the painting onto the actual surface of the frame and in some rare
cases onto the wall surrounding it. This is technically described as “breaking the
picture plane”.

What is composition?
Composition means, literally and simply, putting several things together, so as to make
one thing out of them; the nature and goodness of which they all have a share in
producing. (RUSKIN, 1857)
and Frank Webb:
Many painters use composition intuitively, without conscious awareness that they are doing
it. However many painters ignore composition.
First of all many who are painting do not realise they are composing,… Since the French
impressionists, there has been a feeling that a painting must be an improvisation, and that
composing thwarts improvisation. Others stray because they are so focused on technique,
materials and media. Then
there are those impatient
who are also anxious to slap
on paint. Then, too, laziness
takes its toll, for composing is
hard work and we wish to
avoid not only work but pain.
And last, but not least, compo-
sition is ignored by painters
who cater to a public condi-
tioned by photography, be-
lieving a picture must have
elaborate detail. Thus the
Farmhouse, Little Cornard
9
 world is overloaded with non-composed pictures insinuating themselves into every
corner of our lives. (WEBB, 1988)

Snow, East Fordham

I see composition as the basic skeleton of a painting, all the flesh of colour, texture,
detail and technique need strong bones to carry the weight. I believe that compo-
sition is the secret key to success in painting.
To give some meaning to the term composition two aspects need to be considered.
First, in a good composition the parts of the painting should link to or have a
special relationship to the frame.
Second the various parts of the painting should have an internal coherence, the
forms, the shapes and the interrelationship of tones should form a cohesive whole
, i.e. every part of it should have a reason for being there. Leaving just one part out
would detract from the whole. If you have ever, on entering an exhibition hall,
had your attention forcibly drawn to one picture in particular, taking your
immediate attention as no others do, it is highly likely that that particular paint-
ing had a very skilful composition .

10
 2. Aspects of Composit ion
In order to describe the separate compositional features of a painting they have
to be dealt with in isolation but in practice they are used in association with each
other. A picture is com-
posed and seen as a whole
and in one picture an art-
ist may use many of these
elements to achieve a com-
posite which makes a
statement.
Some features of composi-
tion use lines which refer
parts of the picture to
points on the edge of the
frame others are about Moat, Moat Hall, Fordham
achieving balance, defin-
ing the centre of interest and leading the eye into the painting.

Golden Section
Throughout history the proportion we know as
This is a Golden The Golden Mean has always had a great signifi-
Rectangle cance in structured composition. The Golden Sec-
Ratio 1 to 1.67 tion is the division of a line or the construction of
a rectangle of approximately these proportions.– 1
: 1.67
This proportion coincides with the Fibonacci series. This is formed by starting
with one and adding the last two digits to form the next one. Like this - 1, 1, 2, 3,
5, 8, 13, 21, 34 , 55 etc., any two adjacent figures indicate the proportion. The
further along the series goes, the nearer it gets to the true ratio. Like pi(Π)
however, we never get to an end of this progression.
The most fascinating quality of this proportion is that it derives directly from a
natural origin and has a close affinity with the growth patterns in nature. Some

11
 book sizes, old and new, adhere fairly closely to these
proportions, namely Demy, Royal Folio, Royal Octavo,
Foolscap Folio and Foolscap Octavo.
This is a Nautilus shell. Tangents at right angles to the
walls of the shell, (shown in red) will be in the proportion
of the Golden Mean. Ferns, pine cones and other natural
forms also seem to demonstrate this proportion in their
structure.

Lines joining significant points

Significant points are the corners, the halfway points and the eight golden section
points (ie. Where the Golden Section lines touch the frame. These are lengthily
described by some writers on composition and there are complicated drawings
showing these lines superimposed onto many famous paintings. In particular
Richmond, 1933 and Gordon, 1934 are worthy of mention. It isn’t said that artists
actually construct their paintings with these lines in mind but it may be hinted
that they may have been aware of them, if only subconsciously.
Using just these points it is possible to construct a net of ideal lines for composi-
tional purposes, this however would probably result in far too mechanical a
process for most artists. even though many treatises of old went into great detail
over these measurements.
I am more inclined to the view expressed by Frank Webb that these relationships
are more felt by artists than measured or plotted.
There are also particular lines to be wary of when placing shapes in your picture,
particularly diagonals and lines of bisection. The Union Jack demonstrates all of
these and sums up the type of composition that designers and graphic artists
studiously avoid.

Centre of interest and sweet points

Artists don’t usually use the centre of the composi-
tion to place the most interesting parts of their paint-
ings but place them slightly to one side or other of
the middle point, these places are often referred to as The four possible sweet
the ‘sweet points’ of a painting. These are often de- points

12
 Dabchicks YC, West Mersea
The sky and the clouds here are
entirely a figment of my imagi-
nation but have been placed in
that particular way to draw
your attention to the main sub-
ject which is on a sweet point
(the white building), and direct
attention away from the corners.
The lines of the road also help in
this.

scribed as the four places where the lines which divide the painting into thirds,
cross. This is accurate enough for most purposes but to be slightly more correct I
think that these should be described as the places where the Golden Section
dividing lines cross. There is no definite requirement to use these places however.
The centre of interest may well be a long way from any of these but you can be
sure that a well planned painting will have striking ways of drawing the
spectator’s attention to it. I always try to ensure that there is only one centre of
interest more than one dilutes the interest of a painting but there should never be
two of equal importance.

E.Bergholt Church,
South Side
The centre of interest
here is the extreme
contrast of the light
hitting the bushy tree
on the sweet point of
the painting, the light-
er area in the fore-
ground also points to
this.

13
Rabatment
Not all paintings are made in the
proportion of the Golden Sec-
tion however.
If a square is drawn to overlap a
picture with its side being the
length of the shorter side of the
rectangle, the resulting vertical
line is called a rabatment. This
Trinity Street, Colchester
line can be measured from either
side of the rectangle. Many artists
deliberately use this division as
the place to put the centre of in-
terest of their composition. Obvi-
ously it is not possible to use this
vertical in either a square paint-
ing or in a painting with the sides
in the ratio of 2:1 (when a rabat-
ment would coincide with the
vertical centre line of the picture).
Vineyard Street, Colchester

Eye Line
This is a line parallel to the base
which represents the horizon
(sometimes called a Horizon Line
) and it is related to the actual
height of the eye of the observer
above the scene depicted. A high
eye line results in a view which
approaches a plan view, the indi-
vidual objects show very small
Fordham Schoolhouse
differences in height due to dis-
tance. Low eye lines however ex- The low eye line gives drama, many triangular ele-
ments and diagonals give tension.

14
aggerate differences in size due to distance from the observer and hence tend to
dramatise the view. The norm is an eye line which approximates the height of a
standing observer. A common compositional fault is to place the horizon at the
mid-point of the painting and this should be avoided.

Emphasis and contrast

You can increase the importance of the subject by making sure that dark and light
contrast most strongly around it. Toning down the contrast in the rest of the
painting helps to strengthen what is left.

Dominance
Dominance is probably the most often used way of drawing attention to the main
subject of a picture. If there is one main subject in a picture and it is larger than
any other part of the painting it automatically becomes the centre of interest. The
effect can be extended if there is also a smaller shape included, sometimes
echoing the shape of the dominant one as a way of emphasizing the size differ-
ence between the two.

Parkeston Quay,
Harwich
There is no doubt that the
car ferry is the largest ob-
ject in this painting and
therefore the most domi-
nant part in it. The tonal
gradation of the sky directs
interest, the smoke and the
quayside features also
point to the main subject.

15
Willie Lott’s Cottage, Flatford Mill
The cottage is the central and dominant
subject, the surrounding forms pointing to-
wards it.
Dominance is most evident in still
life groups. I find that still life paint-
ing is probably the most satisfying
way of spending a dull winter day. It
is the one occasion where an artist
has full control over his subject, eve-
ry object and its placement is completely under the control of the artist which can
be placed in the most attractive way, everything about it can be changed, even the
way the light falls upon it— total control.
I find it easier to tackle a still life painting if I use a close-up view. This has two
main advantages, the objects are larger and therefore easier to draw and paint and
the background is reduced in size and thus does not distract attention from the
group itself.
Red Still Life
I have tried here to give a certain tension to the
group by placing most of the mass above the
centre line. The shadows help to link the objects
to the frame.
Still Life with Stoneware Jar
In this group the lines of the wall, the table
cloth and the floor lead the eye in to the main
group.

16
Repetition & variation
It needs three objects to form a series, two objects are not enough to establish a
sequence and the use of four is overstating it. Thus when repetition is used there
are usually three of the same kind of shape. Most artists avoid a mechanical,
monotonous interpretation by changing one or more aspects of the shapes.
Variation may be in the tone, colour, angle or size. Sometimes the repetition is
even more subtle where two or more factors are varied.

Logan Square,
Philadelphia
I was extremely pleased
that I was able to bal-
ance all the separate
shapes in this asymmet-
ric way even though the
main emphasis of the pic-
ture is horizontal. Also I
was able to echo the
theme of the three chil-
dren in three fountains.

Tonal balance symmetrical

The apparent weight of shapes depends upon on
their size and tone. Darker shapes appear to
have more weight than lighter ones. In a compo-
sition the aggregate, or the joint result of the
balance of all shapes should present a form of
equilibrium and the best solutions tend to
asymmetrical
have a asymmetrical form. These are usually
illustrated with the analogy of a seesaw, or
even better, the sort of balance attained by a
steelyard.

17
 R.Colne in Snow
Here I tried to maintain a balance
across the picture of light shapes and
dark shapes so that they represented
an asymmetric tonal equilibrium.

Linking the mid-tones

Mid-tones are the glue which holds a picture together, if they stretch across from
one side of the frame to the other they help to unify the composition.

East Bergholt
Church
This view of East
Bergholt Church is
an example of where
the mid-tones are ex-
tended across the
frame to unify the
whole picture.

Strong verticals and horizontals

If these are very striking elements, there should be emphasis on either horizontal
or vertical, not both. They can provide a good support for the whole composition.

18
 Hotel Svon, Mariensky
Lazny, Czech Republic
A good example of the
grandeur of Austro-Hun-
garian achitectecture.
The diagonal lines help to
break up the horizontal
and vertical emphasis of
this interior view. The ex-
treme darks and lights of
the reception hall con-
trast with the sunny day
outside.

Pink Rudder,
Burnham on Crouch
I chose this view because
it offered an exercise in
shapes. Both horizontals
and verticals play their
part, verticals predomi-
nate and the telephone
pole is on a rabatment.
The street furniture helps
to link the whole picture
together. The curved
shadow on the boat, the
curve of the wall on the
seaward side, the trian-
gle of the boathouse roof and the shaft of light from the break in the wall help to pull the whole
interest into the centre where the pink rudder is.

Rhythm of forms
Where there are several verticals, such as the trunks of trees, vertical supports to
a fence or any other vertical shapes most artists will take steps to avoid a repeti-
tion of equal spaces between them. They will use this opportunity to vary the
intervals in a certain rhythm which will promote visual interest. In addition they
19
 Jumbo, (the water
tower), Colchester
I have varied the posi-
tions of the pillars which
hold up the water tower
and as a result the sky
shows through as a rhyth-
mic progression of
shapes across the picture
which is further divided
by the verticals of trees.

will also vary the height of each vertical, also to add variety. This applies equally
to horizontals or in fact all shapes. As a general rule all artists try to introduce
some variety in tone, shape and colour whenever possible in order to avoid
monotony.

Diagonal lines give action & dynamism

Strong lines or pointed shapes give dynamism to a painting and indicate a
definite compositional movement or thrust.

Burnham on Crouch,
new quay
The perspective lines of
the buildings, the path
and also the horizon all
point to the main subject
but in addition the dark
lines of the boom and the
jetty frame it as well and
introduce an interesting
tension into the composi-
tion.

20
 The Dalles - Frank Webb
Two major thrusts of the pic-
ture are represented by the
white shapes surging across
from left to right. The top one
originates and stays close to
the line joining two golden
mean points on the frame.
The bottom one follows a line
from a corner to another
Golden Mean point. These di-
agonals together with the di-
agonal of the roof shadow
make a determined move-
ment towards the right but
this is successfully countered
by the struts of the structure which strain backwards to produce a tense equilibrium.

Deckchairs, Clacton Pier

A typical example of objects
which have an animation
within themselves, I caught
this on camera and was
very pleased with the way
that the wind had animat-
ed the cloth of the deck
chairs. I also loved the op-
portunity to make the shad-
ows lead into the picture.

Pointers to the centre of interest

Some features act as pointers within the composition, I sometimes have to reduce
the importance of very strong lines which don’t help and sometimes emphasise
those that do.
Perspective lines pointing to the main subject are very obvious in many of my
paintings, it is after all probably the easiest device to arrange in a townscape
where perspective shows up most markedly.
21

Trinity Street, Colchester
Still life in two colours, FrankWebb
Burnt Sienna, prussian blue and their
mixtures go to make up this very min-
imal yet telling flower arrangement.
Particularly note the direct, clean and
well-considered brushstrokes. The
horizontal strokes in pale grey effec-
tively link the group to the frame.
22
The presence of people immediate-
ly commands attention in a compo-
sition. The eye is drawn to them
and they add scale to a painting at
the same time. If they are pointing
to something, the viewer looks
there. The figures don’t even have
to do this, they only have to be
turned towards a subject as if look-
ing at it to provide a strong compo-
sitional pointer towards it. Roads,
pathways and streams perform a
Detail from a nude - Frank Webb
A good example of the consummate skill of a mature
artist. Simple brushwork delineates the subtle
shapes which make up the modelling of the face.
Heavy shadows of the robe point effectively to the
face as well. The left side of the robe is blended into
the background linking the figure to it. Note the use
of violet and green and their mixtures to contrast
with the warm tones of the skin.
similar function and can prove to be very convincing pointers, so strong that
occasionally the artist has to blur the lines a little to reduce this effect and make
it less obvious. You may think that the treatment of a painting is beginning to
sound as if it is most contrived, well that's exactly what art is or what art should
be. An artist should be making something, imposing his rationalisation upon
what he creates, he doesn't take his subject the way it comes, he makes it into what
he wants it to be. This is the difference between matching and making.
Honfleur Port
These perspective lines direct attention
into the painting and point to the cen-
tre of interest which in this case hap-
pens to be the red spot, whatever that is.
Note the balance formed by all the
white shapes and all the dark shapes.

Compositional faults
These further paintings of mine have more than a few compositional faults. I
always think that if I am to underline shortcomings they might as well be mine
rather than embarrass somebody else. I would urge you to keep your failures,
think how encouraged you will be when you later can say that you are so much
better now. I plan, when death seems immanent to destroy them completely, I
have seen more than enough examples of poor quality work rescued from dead
artists’ studios that would have shamed them had they lived to see them exposed
to the public gaze.
These are all my early efforts in watercolour, mostly painted on the spot, on
holiday. A lot of this work represents the learning process. All the way through
college I painted in oils and didn't touch watercolour, at the time watercolours
were regarded as impermanent and only suitable for children. Although many
pigments were fugitive in this medium they did not deserve this condemnation.
In any case, at this time, many galleries and exhibitions were reluctant to accept
watercolours as finished pieces of work. I used acrylics for my work as well. I
didn't start to use watercolour until I felt as if I had enough time to master it fully.
23
 The Waterfront, Porec
I painted this many years ago
on the waterfront at Porec, Yu-
goslavia. The sheer complexity
of the subject drew me to it. The
main fault is that I chose a flat-
on view. There is no Centre of
Barton Broad, Norfolk Interest, the whole painting is
just a collection of details. The
positioning of the people here
does not help to guide the eye,
They don't know whether they
are coming or going and I obvi-
ously didn’t know either.

Crail Harbour, Fife

This painting of Crail harbour,
is rather heavy in tone and very
dark on the right hand side,. It's
not well balanced as a composi-
tion.

Barton Broad, Norfolk

The most significant thing
about this particular painting
of Barton Broad is the broad,
and the broad is all you can see,
much too central in emphasis
and very little tonal contrast. A
typically tentative piece of work
which identified me as a real
beginner in watercolour. One of
my early attempts.

24

Workshop, Charney Manor
This painting has become a historical docu-
ment as the workshop depicted no longer
exists. As to the composition, the whole pic-
ture is flat on, not a very original viewpoint
. The overworked wall dissipates the atten-
tion and there is no distinct centre of inter-
est.
Satuna, Costa Brava
I was intrigued by the dominance
of the buildings on this promonto-
ry. This painting turned out to be
rather bland and I must have
thought at one time that it was fin-
ished but I don’t now. I could have
developed the tones and made
more of the contrast of the shadows
against the buildings. The sea is
not convincing and the sky is too
pale.
Anstruther, Fife
Once in a while things turn out well without a
great deal of fuss and labour I was particularly
pleased with how this painting turned out. The
two great curves of the cirrus cloud and the
shoreline point satisfactorily towards the main
centre of interest. The dark shapes balance each
other very well too.
25
 3. Working Methods
I like to draw a parallel here with a television programme where a full orchestral
rehearsal is shown, the conductor taking the players through the piece slowly,
describing exactly how he wants the work to be performed and why. We watch
the mood and spirit of the piece being gradually worked out. To finish, the piece
is played in its entirety. This both illuminates and increases our understanding
and adds immensely to our appreciation of the final work.
Planning
I always plan the composition before I make a mark on the support (watercolour
paper, board or canvas). I select the view and fix the frame, checking for the most
favourable arrangement.
There is a distinct difference between active looking where the looking is part of
another action (finding, avoiding, comparing, reading) and seeing, meaning being
receptive to the scene before you “for its own sake.”
Learning to "see" the large simple masses of shape, value and colour becomes intuitive
after some trial and error. It can be learned and like anything else requires some patience
and discipline.
Looking is very different from seeing, the act of looking presupposes a mental image of
what is sought. Seeing is a much more passive action, which allows the scene viewed to
impact upon the viewer. (STABIN, 1999)
I use subsequent sketches to explore different possibilities in interpretation, selecting
and refining at each stage. This avoids the trial and error approach which rapidly
leads to overworking and losing freshness.
If the bigger areas of the painting are not well-designed there is little
use in going on. No qualities of colour or texture can save a
painting that has undistinguished shapes and unreadable val-
ues. (WEBB, 1990)

Using a viewfinder
Always use a viewfinder, providing it doesn’t make you
feel too self-conscious. It ensures that you draw a picture
that is level, i.e. at 90 degrees to the angle of vision. A
26
small piece of card about 2½ x 4 in. With a central hole of 1½ x 1 in. Will serve
very well. Use the viewfinder to frame the subject and relate the lines and shapes
to the frame. This is particularly relevant if you are painting out of doors.
Ruskin advocates the use of a viewfinder:
It is good, in early practice, to accustom yourself to enclose the subject, before sketching
it, with a light frame of wood held upright before you. It will show you what you may
legitimately take into your picture, and what choice there is between the narrow fore-
ground near you, and a wide one further off; also what height of tree or building you can
properly take in, etc. (RUSKIN, 1857)
Don’t accept the first view that seems suitable. Look at it through the viewfinder
from as many angles and distances as you can before you decide upon one. If you
intend to paint sitting down, don’t make your judgements while standing up.
Think ahead and you will avoid predicaments later. Always be prepared for the
situation to worsen. Someone may well park a car or a van in front of you, boats
which may loom large part in your painting may suddenly sail away. Many artists
cannily take a photograph before they start, this not only insures against future
disaster but also records and fixes the fleeting shadows which can change drasti-
cally as the painting progresses.
When you look at a magnificent panoramic view you have an awe-inspiring sense
of place. This is difficult to convey within the bounds of a picture frame. I would
advise against attempting to capture the magnificent. It is hard to establish a
centre of interest and difficult to establish a foreground and middle-ground.
A viewfinder is particularly useful for transferring a line to your sketch that you may find
difficult to see accurately, particularly when drawing buildings in perspective. You can get
this angle just right by looking at the scene you have chosen and using a pencil across the
opening of the viewfinder to lining it up with the line in question. Then without moving
the pencil, place both pencil and viewfinder down upon
your drawing and you can readily see the angle you need
to draw.
You can also use the outside of the viewfinder as a tem-
plate to draw a pencil frame in your sketch book to use
as an aid to composition.

27
Sketching
You may be satisfied with the subject but don’t rush straight into paint,
several compositional sketches will enable you to make critical decisions
about tonal balance and relationships early in the process. Don’t confuse
finished drawings with preliminary sketches, these can be very rough indeed,
just enough lines to plan out the areas. Once you have started the painting
itself, it is too late to make major changes in form. If the painting fails you still
have the sketches to work from if you want to start again. I believe that a
preliminary sketch, preferably a tonal one is best for planning out a composi-
tion.
I also think that it is important to enclose preparatory sketches within a
drawn border on the sketchbook page. Leaving a white space between the
sketch and the edge of the paper offers many advantages.
It gives the border a proper importance in the composition and makes you
fully conscious of its importance while you are designing; if you have mis-
judged the extent of the area you wish to include it makes it possible to extend
the frame somewhat in any direction without redrawing and it gives space for
colour notes or any other information.
Frank Webb calls this a Graphic Border:
Many artists draw in a sketchbook, letting the edges of the paper be the edge of the design.
It is far better to draw a borderline an inch or so inside the edge, taking care that the
proportions match your intended painting.
By doing so you will be more conscious of
the composition. It is also easier to scribble
tones up to this border without the pencil
getting caught at the edge of the paper or
pad. The chief advantage of working up to a
graphic border is that at the conceptual
stage it effectively separates the picture from
ordinary reality. (WEBB, 1988)

It is at this stage it is important to ensure that there is a way for the eye to
enter into the picture which is not diverted or blocked off.

28
Tonal values - natural and stage set
The first diagram, based on a sketch by Frank Webb, illustrates the natural tonal
differences that can be found in most landscapes. Tonal values here are dictated
by the general way that light behaves over
large areas.
lightest of all

SKY The second diagram draws a parallel between

a view and a stage set which sometimes proves
slightly darker
MOU NTAINS
useful as a concept. This uses the faded tones
darker still
of aerial perspective to simulate distance.
GROUND
Both of these schemes are employed as a rule
TREES & HOUSES

N A T U RA L T O N A L V A L U E S
of thumb in many paintings to give depth. I
darkest of all

don’t feel however that either of these places

any obligation upon me as to how I allocate tones in my own work. I vary these
according to the tonal pattern I wish to use.
FOREGROUND BACK GROU ND

Quick tonal sketches

MIDDLE GROUND

Many people take careful note on their sketches

of the actual colours in a view. Once you have
decided on a view, you can use whatever colours
and emphasis you like, these are not as fixed as
people may think. How you apply them is up to
VIEWFINDER
WAY IN
Here are a few tonal sketches (or value sketches) where
alternate tonal schemes are tried out. This is the opti-
mal way of working out where best to place and balance
you and the colours you use the tones within the picture frame.
are a matter of choice as well.
Most people like to see
artist’s sketches especially
those which lead to finished
work because they give a
more detailed insight into
the way the artist’s mind is
working as he goes through

29
the preparation and process of making a painting.

Simplification
Simplification is an integral part of the sketching for composition process. Ab-
straction is a result of this simplification.
Remember, also, that painting is a process of subtraction, not addition. Resist the urge to
include everything you see in your painting. Include only those elements that are expres-
sive of your subject, and ruthlessly eliminate those that are not. (STABIN, 1999)
It is helpful to think of every shape we create as a position on a continuous
spectrum of degrees of abstraction. This spectrum ranges from photographic
realism at one end and an arrangement of shapes and colours at the other. The

Addington Common
I simplified the domi-
nant tree by looking
carefully at the branch-
es and the way that they
formed abstract shapes
and these I simplified.
Being able to identify
trees can actually get in
the way of depicting
them simply, all you
need to do is to use your
eyes and discern the
way the tree grows in or-
der to draw it. I emphasised the lines that lead in to the main subject and reduced the back-
ground to a mere silhouette. To establish dominance I made sure that the main subject
contains the greatest contrast between dark and light.

latter extreme seems at first sight to have no meaning at all, apparently a pleasant-
ly arranged design and nothing else. Piet Mondrian painted a series of paintings
which showed the stages in a process of abstraction from a conventional depic-
tion of a tree to a fully abstracted composition. Every time I paint I use a certain
amount of abstraction. Every time I paint I use a certain amount of abstraction.
The human eye, being what it is, cannot rest without imposing some meaning

30
 Frank Webb – Flat Musicians at Market Square
This is a good example of how a skilful artist directs attention to the main subject. The attitudes
of the audience point to and make it perfectly plain where the centre of interest lies. This is
further strengthened by the lightest part also centring on the musicians. Although predomi-
nantly cool in colour scheme the picture is relieved by the occasional warm shape. This is an
object lesson in how to abstract the forms without compromising the statement of the whole.

upon everything it sees and will pick out something for itself whatever happens.
This very fluidity of meaning is very attractive to some people as it appears to offer
the chance to interpret the picture in a very subjective way.
Any drawing and any painting requires a certain suspension of disbelief on the
part of the viewer the more skilful the artist the more complete the co-operation
between the artist and his audience. A good abstraction is a joy to behold. Largely
speaking, abstractions make sense because of where the abstracted objects are
placed. These still need to be proportionate to everything else.
When you are looking at a scene or even a photograph you immediately become
aware of the seductiveness of detail. Every luscious object in all its detail sings
sweetly to you just as the sirens did to Ulysses, “am I not wonderful?, paint me,
paint me.”
31
 Don’t be conditioned by the many
detailed photographs you have seen
and imagine that a painting consists
merely of a collection of accumulated
detail.
Frank Webb says:
Any painting is a bad painting when a
part becomes more interesting than the
West Mersea whole. Over attention to detail spawns
confusion and chaos – the opposition of
design. (WEBB, 1990)
It is my particular duty as an artist to
allocate priorities to the forms in
front of me. I am the one in charge, I
am entrusted with the privilege to
extract, to establish order, to play
down some things and to emphasize
others and to change according to my
own vision.
Boatyard at Pin Mill
There are always those who are con-
tent to paint subjects ‘the way it was’.
I believe that an artist must take
charge, where there is full control
there is also full responsibility, each of
us must bear this for our work.
Artists are not cameras. We must be
obliged at some stage or other to ab-
stract what we see and convert it into
shapes and forms that are paintable.
Beer, Devon Tony Couch calls these shapes, sym-
bols:
To symbolise means we don’t report each object in all its detail, as would a camera;
rather we invent symbols for them. The painting has a language different from the real
landscape or seascape, so a translation job must be done. (COUCH, 1987)
32
Abstraction and simplification is a personal and subjective response to the subject.
This is one of the ways in which an artists develops a distinct style.

Photography
Many artists have very guilty feelings about using a camera to help them. They
shouldn’t. Many do not realise the enthusiasm with which artists, since the time
of the renaissance have embraced and used every technical aid as soon as they
became aware of it: the camera oscura, the convex lens and finally the camera.
Canaletto, Guardi, Caravaggio, Watteau, Vermeer, Pissarro all used technical
assistance at some time or other in their work.
A good photograph is in focus over its whole surface, when we use our eyes
however, only the centre of our vision is in sharp focus, the rest fades as it gets
towards the edge of our vision. A photo therefore represents a summary of
everything we see once we have let our eyes wander all around what we are
looking at.
“A camera does so much for you but it doesn’t take a point of interest. Instead it
focuses on the whole thing, it takes a picture of the entire subject.” (Tom Coates -
as quoted by Oliver Lange, The Artist, May 2001)
In general use a camera gives you a reduced angle of vision putting you further
away from the scene,
affecting scale. Grandi-
ose scenery is reduced
in impact and this can
make the view unrecog-
nisable when the film is
developed.
In spite of these limita-
tions the camera is an
invaluable aid, its built-
in viewfinder helps us
to find promising po-
tential compositions
Seafront at Aldeburgh
33
 and is a quick and ready source of
reference. It captures otherwise fleet-
ing shadows, it makes the life of a
sitter far less arduous and it enables
detail to be recorded in its entirety for
later use in the studio.
On the question of copying directly
from a photograph. Many painters
do this, some actually project an im-
Willie Lott’s Cottage, Flatford Mill age from a photograph us-
ing some kind of
epidiascope and draw
round the image. Detailed
work of this kind, although
popular, conveys very little
of the artist’s vision to the
viewer.
It is always best if the pho-
tograph you work from is
your own, you are then
able to bring the experi-
ence of taking the photograph and the ‘feeling of place’ to your work and addition-
ally there is no difficulty with copyright issues.
Working directly from a photograph without making a preliminary sketch is
probably the worst thing you can do, there is so much detail you are tempted to
go into detail right away whereas the first thing you should do is to simplify what
you see. One of the greatest values an artist can offer is the interpretation from
what he sees. There needs to be a buffer between the photograph and the painting
and that is best realised by interposing a sketch, preferably a tonal one. This way
the tonal balance can be worked out at an early stage and that is itself an abstract-
ing process. Your painting becomes a much less hit and miss affair when you have
already made important decisions about the structure and the composition you
will use.

34
 Artists have to arrive
at their own practi-
cal ways of simplifi-
cation which are still
acceptable to the on-
looker, any object
must of necessity be
subjected to a degree
of abstraction at the
hand of the artist.

Connere, France

From the sketch to the painting

When painting directly from the subject the compositional sketch is often over-
looked but I have found from experience that even the briefest and scrappiest
sketch is useful for sorting out priorities and deciding upon the best plan of action.
It is not necessary to redraw a complete version of the sketch on the support. The
sketches and photographs are to refer to as
the work progresses. Panther Hollow Stairs, - Frank Webb
The ability to draw well does not automati-
cally ensure good painting. Many good
draughtsmen will spend no time on prepara-
tory sketches preferring to spend a great deal
of time drawing, in great detail, every con-
tour of every object. Some even take this
further by shading to show shape. It is only
when they start painting that they might
realise that it was badly planned or that the
colours were rendered dark and messy by
mixing with the graphite. Many become dis-
couraged by this that they steer clear of col-
our altogether for a while.
35
 French town with canal and flowers
Some practical advice:
Use good quality watercolour paper but you don’t need to buy hand-made. Buy
the best brushes and paint you can afford.
Use the biggest brush you can for the job, you wouldn’t paint a wall of a room
with a one inch brush. As to paint, always mix at least three times the amount that
you think you will need and at least twice as dark as you think it should be while
it is wet. Nothing is more disappointing than to realise that the perfect wash you
have manfully desisted from messing about with and is really fresh and good is
nonetheless far too light in tone.
Whether completing work on location or from source material in the studio it is
best to paint in your initial areas according to the main divisions of your compo-
sitional plan even to the extent of ignoring what is directly in front of you. The
painting should progress from the largest shapes to the smaller ones. Do not work
in just one area at a time but bring all of the painting forward together.
Normally in watercolour practice the lightest shapes are dealt with first, a mid-
tone wash covers the paper and leaves the lightest shapes as negatives, being the

36
white of the paper. The darker mid-tones are dealt with next, finishing off with
the darkest shapes. Check at this stage that you have achieved an acceptable
balance with the tones.
I find it is best to refer to the compositional sketch for as long as possible, only
using the photograph, providing you have taken one, for fine detail. If you do this
it may surprise you how far you have come in interpreting the original stimulus.
This is when you must be selective and sparing, choosing only the most telling
detail to draw attention only to the centre of interest.
You do not need to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’. A subtle hint can suffice, the
viewer will supply the rest, and gain a greater amount of enjoyment from doing
so.
I have heard many artists say that you have to stop just when you feel that just
another small detail could be added but it is far more complex than that. There is
a particular awkward trait in us all which believes that all we have to do to achieve
perfection in the painting we are working on is to keep at it for long enough and
we will get get there eventually, perhaps to perfection itself? In watercolour where
Bowness Boatyard

37
things can rapidly go wrong, the more one works on it, the worse it gets. This is
not confined to watercolour I have seen very many acrylics and oil paintings that
have been worked to death resulting in passages of purple/brown sludge.

Tollesbury quayside

For myself I find that giving a demonstration is a particularly good occasion for
placing just the right amount of pressure to the progress of the painting . Under
this constraint there is no time for dwelling on any stage too long and every
reason to finish when a statement has been achieved. Not going on too long is
built into and part of the whole process.

38
 5. The Process

Maldon Yacht Club

Be adventurous, risk failure, spend as much time painting as you can. Open
yourself to other people's work, see as much as you can, read as much as you can,
experiment as much as you can and don’t look ahead all the time to a precon-
ceived end point, instead regard your artistic work as a process.
It is far better to create many paintings– being focused and working quickly and simply– than
to try to paint a masterpiece. Production is important. Some of your paintings will fail. Some will
succeed. We learn from our failures. Look forward to them. They are part of the process, if my
watercolour is a more successful than yours. It is because I have failed more often than you have.
Remember, it is “the process” that is important. A painting is a by-product of “the process.” The
joy and excitement is in the act of painting itself. (STABIN, 1999)
Feel confident that you will gain from the process. The ability to use composition
transcends technical facility in painting and drawing although gaining compe-
tence in these is very important.

39
 Fordham Place Cottage
As Mel Stabin also points out:
Technique will emerge as a result of production, but does not make a painting.
... when you become proficient in the application of technique, don’t feel that you have
“arrived.” Unfortunately, many artists do. (STABIN, 1999)
Don’t judge yourself harshly, painting, like learning to play a musical instrument,
can be learned and you can only learn if you can truly suspend self-criticism or at
least temper it so it is commensurate with the standard you have reached.
Enjoy yourself, I will finish with a very apt quote from William Hogarth:
The active mind is ever bent to be employed. Pursuing is the business of our lives; and
even abstracted from every other view, gives pleasure. Every arising difficulty, that for a
while attends and interrupts the pursuit, gives a sort of spring to the mind, enhances the
pleasure and makes what else be toil and labour, become sport and recreation.
(HOGARTH, 1753)

40
Small garden view
41
 Bibliography
COUCH, Tony - Watercolor, You Can Do It - 1987 - North Light Books
ISBN 0 89134 188 9 – pp. 34
GORDON, Jan - A Stepladder to Painting - 1934 - Faber & Faber Ltd. London
pp. 56-57, 146-169
HOGARTH, William - The Analysis of Beauty - 1753 - §V, 24
READ, Herbert - The Meaning of Art - 1931, (Pelican Books) Penguin Books
in association with Faber and Faber – p. 130
RICHMOND, Leonard - Essentials of Pictorial Design - 1933 - Sir Isaac
Pitman & Sons, Ltd. London pp. 86-111
RUSKIN, John - The Elements of Drawing - 1857 - Dover Publications Inc.
New York 180 Varick Street, New York NY 10014 -ISBN 0 486 22730 8 –
pp. 18, 188
STABIN, Mel - Watercolor, Simple, Fast and Focused - 1999 - Watson-Gup-
till Publications ISBN 0 82230 5706 0 – pp. 9, 12, 14, 44
WEBB, Frank - Watercolor Energies - 1983 - North Light Books ISBN 0 8914
751 422
WEBB, Frank - The Artists Guide to Composition, 1988 - Published as
Strengthen Your Paintings with Dynamic Composition, North Light
Books, - 1994 David & Charles, Brunel House, Newton Abbot Devon -
ISBN 0 7153 0337 – 6 pp. 1, 8
WEBB, Frank - Webb on Watercolor - 1990 - North Light Books F & W
Publications, Inc., 1507 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45207, ISBN
0 89134 346 6 – pp. 93, 139

42
The Millrind Press
ISBN 1 902194 07 1