Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Should we properly take our time for preliminary sketching before starting with a composition? If you neglect the art of working on a composition, might the artwork risk becoming a failure? The answer is yes and no, because there are circumstances that require preliminary studies but there is also intuitive designing a composition.

WHAT IS A COMPOSITION?

Officially a composition is the combination or arrangement of different elements of an artwork.

A composition is up to the artist: an artist can go for minimalist or maximalist art, a 10^th century ‘feel or fashion’, an abstract, or a naive style. There is plenty of freedom however this freedom is often not experienced by the artist as freedom. More as room for experimenting and arranging persons or objects. Although the artist is allowed to position the horizon on ¾th height (focusing more on land), or ¼th low (leaving much room for the sky), certainly the artist aims at expressing something which inevitably results in thinking thoroughly about a composition.

‘How can I enchant the viewer to look foremost to the ships instead of the clouds?’ an ambition that unquestionably leads to a higher horizon (thus more room for a sea with ships, thus less sky, more waves).

‘How can I put light on the right side of her dress’, leads to considering the position of the woman in relation to a window.

Designing a composition means having freedom within (technical) limits, like living in a society: one has freedom however within the rules of law. It simply does not work to make a portrait on a 40 by 30 cm canvas with a nose as big as 35 by 25cm. It is allowed, sure, and it would be original, but probably not sell easily.

An artwork, its composition, is a story. Every object and position of the artwork helps tell a tale whether this is a story of natural beauty, from the delicate intricacies of blooming flowers to graceful birds. Or a story about a protest against war (Picasso’s Guernica) or a historical event (a statue of Vercingetorix or The Dying Galatian). Every detail and its position on a canvas is deliberate. Even white, open space or emptiness or what you do not see (for instance somebody is looking into a direction at something that is not in the picture) is achieving an expression of the intangible. Suggesting that what cannot be touched, the elements, richness, emotions, moonlight, is as important as the iridescent parts of a bird’s feather or the redness of an apple.

Composition & background

A composition implies there is a background or a scene, whether that is a maximalist background (a full and busy scenery) or a minimalist background. For instance, a Chinese bird sits on a cherry blossom branch: there is no background (as -for instance- a village, hills, or a waterfall) but the viewer ‘sees’ in his mind the whole tree and the horizon the bird looks at. The branch and the bird are two objects, thus a composition.

Should you only have one object, you have no composition. You have a position. For instance, a lying person or a walking person, a flying bird or swimming duck. A bird alone is nice for a Bird Inventory Guide. A plant alone works as a profile photo or a header for stationary. One plant is not a composition, not even for a scientific botanical drawing because for that you need a drawing showing all plant parts in different seasons, its reproductive system, its root system, and shape, size, and colour of its seeds and fruits.

An example of two preliminary sketches

First sketch; trying out the terrapin’s position in relation to the lotus flowers. Second sketch: repositioning the terrapin and the islands. Final result: a combination of a diagonal and horizontal composition.

Lotus Pond with Terrapin by Paula Kuitenbrouwer (copyrighted)

HOW TO DESIGN A COMPOSITION?

The composition is the narrative of your artwork, whether that is a statute, a painting, or a photo. You are telling a story, and the composition should serve that narrative.

Designing a composition starts with taking into account how large (which size and shape) your artwork will be. A rectangular canvas requires a different composition than an oval one. There are many compositions to consider: a diagonal one, a curved one, a low horizon, a high horizon, etc.

The use of colour is also important. The general rule is that the further away objects are (trees, landscape, hills) the softer and more greyish the use of colour becomes.  This is an easy trick to capture the viewer’s attention on the most important elements of a painting which are often positioned in the front (and center, but that is not mandatory).

Odd or even also plays a role. For me, I often work with odd numbers unless I need to draw a couple. My mandarin ducks are always the drake and duck together, center stage. But when I draw a vase with flowers, the flowers will often come in odd numbers. But not always.

Likewise, symmetry is rarely preferable (an exemption is an architectural drawing). It is hard to make a symmetric drawing that is exciting. It is easier to use odd objects for creating harmony; it is easier to use even numbers to create symmetry. But not always.

Odd or even numbers: Three & Four Tulip Compositions by Paula Kuitenbrouwer (Copyright)

I have mentioned ‘but not always’ a few times. ‘But not always’ is the wonderful part of composition: there are no hard rules, just gentle advice.

HOW TO EVALUATE A COMPOSITION?

Look at all things mentioned in the above paragraph of designing a composition and see whether you have an effective painting. After evaluating size, shape, odd/even, harmony, narrative, colour-use, and focal point, judge or test the way the eye of the viewer is guided to the heart of the matter.

Make preliminary studies and/or use your intuition

Some artists fall into a composition and often it works. Their intuition and skill is so developed, they can afford skipping making preliminary studies. And sometimes I do that as well. However, many (mainly new) compositions require try-out sketches. Others are so obviously organized in your mind’s eye that you can put them on paper without testing.

Another exemption for preliminary sketching is when you are confronted with a ready-made composition, for instance an estate or a garden. You only have to decide on the angle and perspective, but the whole composition presents itself already dominantly in front of you.

Italian Artist Sybille Kramer on Composition

“I am very intuitive when planning a composition for a drawing. I succeed best when I start by thinking about what feelings the picture should trigger and express. I love working with slanted lines or gradients that draw the eye of the viewer in one direction or another. Even ‘invisible’ lines can connect elements. It is important to me that there is a certain tension in the picture, even if it has a seemingly ‘quiet’ atmosphere such as a still life with a vase on the table or a tranquil landscape.

When choosing a format, I sometimes like to draw beyond the edge of the paper, in the sense that the image is larger than the paper dimensions, so that parts appear to be cut off. This creates suspense. What is happening outside the viewer’s eye? I leave that open to the viewer’s imagination.

Most of the time I ensure that in some parts of the drawing there is ‘ lots going on’ with multiple elements or corresponding colours, while other zones remain ‘calmer’. Regarding the use of colour, I use lots of strong, bright colours contrasting with some ‘quieter’ shades.

I find composing a drawing to be similar to composing music, because depending on how you plan and organize the elements -whether musical or visual- its quality and enchantment can changes a person’s mood”.

‘Outside my window in November‘ by Sybille Kramer (copyright)

Have a look at the composition by Sybille Kramer. The viewer closely observes -standing in front of a window- the weather conditions of Südtirol. It is late autumn (mushrooms), and the autumn fruits and dried plants with berries are decorating the window sill. It is raining outside and clouds of mist obscure the mountains which are only visible in grey hues. The trees are bare already whilst a last colourful autumn leaf dances in front of the window. Kramer draws in the birds that are hiding away from the autumn storm: in the middle flower vase she shows an Eurasian blackcap. On the blue vase next to the bird, we see migratory birds. And on the open dish with walnuts, Kramer alludes to winter’s evergreens. The whole composition is enchanting, entertaining, and points out the stormy transition of autumn to winter. Is it time to pull the heavy curtain and to block out the harsh conditions of the storm? No, not when you appreciate your region as much as Kramer does. Keep it open, enjoy even passing winter storms!

Contact Sybille freely at Instagram & at sybille@kramer.bz.it.

Summery

Enjoy designing compositions. Add more; declutter it. Add colours; tone it down. Be playful; be exact. Be creative; be intuitive. Spend time on listening to your artistic skills and to what you like to express. I have noticed over the years that the longer I spend time on designing a composition, the less time I waste on disagreeing with my artwork later on. In other words, the more time you enjoy the phase of finding an effective composition, the less paper or canvases you will waste.

A big thank-you to Sybille Kramer for her contribution to this article.

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Welcome to my website that is full of my art and art-musings. I am Paula Kuitenbrouwer and I am a freehand-drawing & commission artist. Art is often seen as a luxury but when it comes to memorable events we are in need of art. Please, feel free discussing commissioned art with me. I was taught drawing and painting by Spanish-Dutch artist Charito Crahay and Dutch artist Johan Kolman. I have studied Philosophy at the University of Utrecht & Amsterdam; currently I live with my husband and daughter in the Netherlands.

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• My Art-Making Kaizen
• A Visit to Holywell