Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Format

Composition for Parkmill Pond (1:2)

Lesson 34 of  Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is a the last lesson in the chapter on Composition. Phillip starts by pointing out:

Changing the format of your image can have a profound impact on your work.

He urges:

Don’t fall into the trap of complacency, stretch yourself, challenge how you approach the composition of the landscape.

He goes on to suggest a number of ways to train your compositional muscles, but doesn’t suggest a specific exercise. One of his first suggestions is to cut up an image so you can see all the positive and negative shapes because:

Often, good composition is a way of ensuring that each shape in your image is interesting and different, yet their overall effect is to create harmony through the opposition of different forces.

As an exercise I decided to break a photo into shapes and use them as the basis for a composition.

Parkmill Pond, Woodchester Park

This is Parkmill Pond in Woodchester Park.

Parkmill Pond (17 Shapes)

My first attempt at identifying shapes, resulted in 17 shapes. The frilly foreground overlaps the objects behind it, dividing them into multiple small shapes. This is too many - Tom Hoffman suggests a maximum of 10 shapes in the Five-Value Monochrome Study from his Watercolor-Painting. 

Parkmill Pond (10 Shapes)

Simplifying the foreground shape, reduces the overall shape count to 10. I plan to paint the foreground grasses overlapping the water, but these are adornments. The "bulk" of the foreground shape is the simpler object in this second picture.

Parkmill Pond - Separating the Shapes

Separating the shapes shows they are interesting and varied, but they are predominately horizontal - they don't provide any contrast between horizontal and vertical. My plan is this tension will come from the rendering of the shapes. There will be lots of vertical lines to suggest the textures in the grasses, trees and reflections.

After identifying the shapes, the next step was to answer two compositional questions:

• What format to use for the picture?
• What is the focus / centre of interest?

Towards the end of the lesson, Phillip suggests:

By limiting yourself, maybe to a particular format or a particular use of media, you can begin to clarify your intention, to know what you want to say.

My initial format choice was 7 by 10 because I paint in water-based media (watercolour, acrylic and gouache) and I have two Arches watercolour blocks (a small and a large one) both with proportions of 7 by 10.

What is the centre of interest? There is a tower (“The Tower”) tucked away in the background trees, but this is a painting about the lake, so the patch of bright water towards the rear of the lake makes a good focal point.

I investigated a number of ways to resize the image to 7 by 10:

• Just squashing it all in
• Various zooms and crops

I also explored the position of the bright patch of water using a rule of thirds grid and a phi grid (see Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Rule of Thirds)

Composition for Parkmill Pond (7:10)

After a bit of tinkering, this is the result. I prefer the 1 by 2 version at the top of the post. There are some landscapes, probably those with mainly horizontal shapes, that I think look better in a more panoramic format. I've decided to limit myself to 3 formats for watercolour paintings: 7:10, 1:1 and 1:2. I chose 1:1 and 1:2 because they are simple to measure and they seem to work well for some subjects (see Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Root Rectangles).

Compositions with Empty Space

Tranquillity
Watercolour on Paper
40.5cm x 34cm (16" x 13.35")

The duotone study of yachts moored off St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly (see Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Duotone) inspired me to try the largest watercolour I've painted in a long time – maybe 8 years.

Since I started painting, I've admired artists who have the confidence and ability to create pictures containing empty space - particularly big empty foregrounds. Whenever I tried it, the results just looked unfinished and I've ended up cropping the blank space. What was their secret?

The answer is (of course?) their compositional skills. Exercises like Duotone and the Five-Value Monochrome Study from Tom Hoffmann's  Watercolor Painting (see Five-Value Monochrome Study) help me to better understand where details are not needed in an image.

The Principles of Composition exercises from Composition by Arthur Wesley Dow have also given me some insight into how blank space fits into a satisfying composition. I’m sure the later chapters on Line and Notan would help even more, but they are not at the top of my study list because there are lots of other resources I am keen to experiment with and learn from.

Its interesting to reflect on what I’ve learnt from where. In March, Stephanie asked

I notice that you are often working your way through an instruction book or course. Do you have any recommendations for the order someone should choose these resources? I would love to see a page where you gather links to your posts that review your thoughts on a book once you've finished with it.

I’ve realised this is going to be a time-consuming undertaking. I’ve started the first steps:

• Create a list of all the resources I've mentioned on this blog and others I’ve used but not discussed
• Make sure the blog posts that discuss each source are properly tagged
• Write two sentences for each resource to explain whether I finished the material and whether I would recommend it to someone else

I will post this information when it is ready.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Duotone

Sheep Grazing from the Mon & Brec
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink on Paper
13.5cm x 9.5cm (5.25" x 3.75")

Lesson 15 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler continues with the black, white and grey studies introduced in the previous lesson (Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Negative Painting).

Walberswick Beach
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink on Paper
9.5cm x 13.5cm (3.75" x 5.25")

The focus of the lesson is identifying the grey shapes and thinking about the balance of the three tones - is the scene mostly grey with a few black shadows and white highlights?

Kennet and Avon
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Promarker on Paper
9cm x 12.5cm (3.5" x 5")

Phillip recommends the use of photo editing software to help simplify the landscape into tonal masses. The initial exercise uses grey and black promarkers (permanent alcohol-based markers) on white paper. Phillip then suggests making a series of three-tone studies using a range of dry and wet media on white and toned surfaces.

Near the Otter Estuary
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Promarker on Paper
16cm x 11cm (6.25" x 4.25")

I did a lot of experiments and particularly enjoyed the ink on toned paper. Some of these are more detailed and lack the spontaneity of Philips examples, but this can be a symptom of drawing and painting from photographs.

Moorings Near Hugh Town
Duotone - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Promarker on Paper
16cm x 11cm (6.25" x 4.25")

The lesson reminded me of the Five-Value Monochrome Study from Tom Hoffmann's Watercolor Painting (see Five-Value Monochrome Study). This provided a useful connection because Tom's exercise isn't about accurately replicating the tones in the landscape, it is about creating a picture that makes sense to the viewer.

St Peter's for Bob

St Peter's For Bob
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

It is over 2 years since Bob asked me to paint a view of East Bridgford church. Unfortunately, his request coincided with a shift in my interest towards sketching and away from creating "finished" works. The problem was compounded because Bob wanted the scene to include the copper beech – which became a compositional challenge. I tried a variety of ideas without finding anything that worked.

When Elaine and I sold our house, this gave me the extra impetus to finish. Especially when Bob and Angela invited us to lunch on the Sunday before we left the district. I was pleased (and extremely relieved) to be able to deliver the framed painting before joining them for our last meal in the village.

The Five-Value Monochrome Study and Two-Layer Geometric Sketch from Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann helped to clarify what to include in the picture and what aspects of the painting were going to be the most challenging.

I’ve not found time for any other drawing and painting since we sold our house. It’s weeks since I’ve picked up a pencil or brush. The process of buying, selling and moving house seems to have taken for ever. Thankfully, we are now settling into our new home. In the next week or two, I am planning to restart where I left off with Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone and to retake Liz Steel’s on-line sketching class - SketchingNow - Foundations.

Three-Layer Thumbnail Sketch

St Peter's Porch
Three-Layer Thumbnail Sketch
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

The Three-Layer Thumbnail Sketch is the third "exercise" from Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann. It is another study that helps to explore how much detail is needed in a picture (see Five-Value Monochrome Study and Two-Layer Geometric Sketch).

The Three-Layer Thumbnail Sketch builds up an image in layers - that progress from light to dark and from general abstract marks to more specific details.

Tom recommends this as an approach for interpreting complex subjects and making them less daunting.

The process starts by asking what pattern is formed by the whitest/lightest parts of the subject. Once the pattern of whites is understood, the lightest layer is painted around them with abstract marks. The first layer can be painted confidently with abstract stokes because most of it will be covered by subsequent layers.

The second layer is another pattern of abstract strokes. It is started by asking how much of the lightest layer needs to remain visible and what pattern does it form.

Each new layer gets darker and more detailed – moving from general to specific information.

You can either stop after three layers or continuing adding layers with more and more specific information.

Once again I failed to keep the first layers as simple as Tom suggests, but the exercise was illuminating. It opened my eyes to a different way of looking at and painting complex subjects.

What Comes Next 2017

Christmas Books - 2016
29 December 2016
Ink and Watercolour
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
20.3cm x 14.0cm (8.0" x 5.5")

Elaine gave me Experimental Drawing by Robert Kaupelis and Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone for Christmas. I intend to use these to structure my drawing practice in 2017. The other book in the sketch is Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory. It’s a book I’ve wanted to read for ages and was a present from Julie.

It’s a long time since I’ve thought about what I want from drawing and painting. The last time I wrote a blog post on this was in July 2013 (see What Comes Next).

I enjoy ink and watercolour sketching and I intend to carry on with this in 2017, but I also want something more. Sketching stuff around the house using the same techniques is becoming repetitive, so I’m going to explore some other approaches to drawing and painting.

I’m going to be more experimental in my sketching - use some different tools and maybe even try some collage, but this can wait until the summer. Initially, I am going to focus on drawing and painting techniques.

I know I want to paint, but I don’t know what or how. As a result, I’m not very inspired. Part of the problem is also my lack of mastery of watercolour, so I am going to continue reading and following the exercises from Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann.

I want to make more confident and interesting marks and to incorporate more emotion and spontaneity into my drawings and paintings. I hope to achieve this by reading and following the exercises in the books Elaine bought me for Christmas. The exercises in Experimental Drawing look like they could take a couple years to get through, so I’m going to start with Expressive Drawing - which is all about intuitive mark making. The emphasis is on nonrepresentational drawing which will be a change for me but I’m excited to give it a go.

Two-Layer Geometric Sketch

St Peter's For Bob
Two-Layer Geometric Sketch
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

The two-layer geometric sketch is the second “exercise” in Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann. It is another study that helps to reveal how much detail is needed in a painting. The five-value monochrome study explored the importance of tone. The two-layer geometric sketch introduces colour in a simplified form, so we can evaluate where more detail is needed.

The instructions for the exercise are to simplify each of the major shapes into a basic geometric form and assign it a colour. Paint each shape with a simple wash representing its lightest value and add a second layer where needed - primarily to indicate shadows.

Tom suggests using a limited palette of 3 colours – a red, a yellow and a blue. You can mix them, to create a green or purple, but if they don’t make a good green or a good purple, too bad. The intention is to ignore details and to treat colour simply. The result is supposed to look like a collage made from coloured paper.

I used the same subject as for the five-value monochrome study. Once again I failed to simplify things as much as Tom suggested - I did not reduce the subject to simple geometric shapes because the drawing is one of the challenges I’m trying to sort out.

The exercise helped to clarify some problems in the composition, but it also reassured me that my objectives for the painting are possible. I want the church and memorial to appear imposing, but the overall atmosphere to be positive and full of light.

I can see the background buildings and the church porch do not require much detail, but the foliage, even in the background, will need more texture. The church and the monument needed to be taller and darker.

My next steps are to finalise the drawing and use some thumbnail sketches to explore options for colours.

Five-Value Monochrome Study

St Peter's For Bob
Five-Value Monochrome Study
Watercolour On Paper
26cm x 18cm (10" x 7")

Liz Steel recently recommended Watercolor Painting by Tom Hoffmann.

The subtitle of the book is “A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium”. It contains an interesting mixture of guidance, exercises and experiments. In the introduction Tom says:

The focus in this book is on awareness rather than technique. it is important to know how to make a warm, neutral, graded wash, but it takes a different set of skills to know when that particular technique is called for.

I want to spend more time learning to paint in watercolour and this book provides exactly the sort of structure I need.

The first exercise is to create a Five-Value Monochrome Study. Tom recommends this as the ideal initial study for a new subject because it helps to explore the role that value plays in the relationship between the major shapes.

He stresses the purpose of the exercise is not to create a carefully observed monochrome painting. The result is supposed to look too simple because the best way to find out if something needs to be in the picture is to leave it out.

I tried the exercise on a relatively unpromising photograph.

St Peter's For Bob - Source Photo

The first instruction is to break the subject down into at most 10 shapes. This turned into a challenge and I resorted to printing the picture and drawing shapes on it, but still couldn’t get below 14. I will try harder next time, but bent the rules just this once.

St Peter's For Bob - Sorting Out The Shapes

The study was a sequence of disasters. I mixed the first pale wash too dark and didn’t make enough of it, so I ended up with some blooms and a quite unpleasant looking result. I didn’t leave it to dry sufficiently, so when I applied the second wash, it just bloomed into the first. Making everything look even more unpleasant and not leaving much differentiation between the lighter tones.

With all these difficulties, the study is still a success because I’ve learnt a lot from it – the obvious lessons about mixing enough paint and leaving washes to dry, but also some subtler ones about how I want to paint the subject.

My intention for the picture is for the church and memorial to appear imposing, but the overall atmosphere to be positive and full of light - early on a bright summer morning.

The simple study indicates both of these objectives are possible. The church is commanding and there is a sense of space and light around it.

The shaft of sunlight in front of the church joining with the highlight on the right-hand bushes and trees is an important part of the picture. This is something I need to emphasise in the final work along with the light spilling around the edge of the church.

One of my biggest concerns for the picture is the copper beech on the left. Will the tree be believable without including its trunk in the picture? I think it is going to be ok.

Perhaps the most important result is the study has enthused me to paint the picture. The second exercise is a two-layer geometric sketch which I’m looking forward to trying next.