“I don’t care about all those stifling rules of composition. I just want to know how to paint!” Is this you?
The above quote is real. It was an outburst from one of my college students more than forty years ago. Instead of making me frustrated with the student, it woke me up to the reality of the flaw in how painting was taught, pretty much universally, in those days. What about today? Has that changed at all?
That was the moment I set out on a mission to make composing paintings a real part of the teaching process. The first thing I realized was that composing had to become as real as the paint itself. It could not be taught as a set of rules without crushing the freedom to create. I had to approach it as an action, not as a result or a goal.
I grew into the realization that composing paintings was no different in principle from composing music or a poem. Rather than being something that happens in the early stages of painting, composing happens throughout the painting process. The composition is not set until the painting is finished.
Over the next few weeks, I will share with you my discoveries about why the term “rules of composition” is totally misleading.
Diane, this idea sounds brilliant! I look forward to where you are guiding us next. Thank you!
I've been trying to get my head around composition for some time now, thank you for putting attention to it and sharing with us.