Painting on Location by David Curtis

Author:David Curtis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849943246
Publisher: Pavilion Books
Published: 2015-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

After a Shower Watercolour on Arches Rough paper 19.5 × 28.5cm (7¾ × 11¼in) The centre of interest in this painting is the car, with various lines in the foreground leading up to that point.

Centre of interest

The more you paint outside, the quicker you become adept at noticing subjects that work compositionally. A good composition will give structure to a painting, create order and harmony, and ensure that when we look at the painting, our attention is directed around it and yet always kept within its bounds. Often in my paintings I have the focal point, the key feature of interest, fairly centrally placed – although never right in the centre – as with the car in After a Shower. Alternatively, I sometimes rely on the ‘rule of thirds’ principle (based on the Golden Section proportion), with the centre of interest positioned about one-third of the way across the picture area, as with the house at the end of the sea wall in Moorings, Whitby Harbour.

The focal point might be a special note of bold colour, a particularly strong highlight, or a figure or similar feature. I also look for a composition that will give me a lead-in feature and directional lines or linking features, such as shadows. Compositions with a Z-shape or S-shape work extremely well in this respect – see Dredger on the Esk, Whitby Harbour.

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