The Fighting Temeraire by JMW Turner, 1838

Let’s start by looking at one vivid composition by JMW Turner.  I’m pretty sure Turner was the most influential painter from the British isles, at least until modern times. His influence on the Impressionists, Modernism and Abstraction generally, is massive. His presence in popular culture, at least in the UK, is unprecedented, what with The Turner Prize, portrayal in film and even today,  appearing on bank notes.

Many would agree that “The Fighting Temeraire” (as it is commonly known) is his greatest painting. When Turner came to paint this picture, he was at the height of his career.  He was renowned for his highly atmospheric paintings in which he explored the subjects of the weather, the sea and the effects of light.The influence of Turner on later painters is clear when we look at a detail of the the painting and then turn an eye to Monet’s “Impression Sunrise”

 I think that the painting is also important as it speaks to the passing of the sailing age and remembered “glories” and moving onward, perhaps ominously, to coal, smoke and industrialization.

Some Basics of Composition

Composition is all about creating designs in visual space. No great secret, however because it approaches painting from the perspective of organizing the space  independently of subject it can get a little complicated. A boat which looks like a boat is a boat, few would argue, however where should that boat go in the painting? Everyone has their own idea.

In the following video I introduce the building blocks that we all use.

The elements of composition I describe are fairly evident::

1. Line
2. Shape (and Form)
3. Value
4. Colour
5. Texture

(perhaps “Space” too – however that to me is implied in all visual arts)

Wow – so composition is easy! Just arrange those 5 (or 6) elements in the right place and you have a painting!

A good principle for many paintings – duality

It’s often a great idea to favour two elements as your prime tools, at least whilst starting a painting – rather than a smorgasbord of all five: A predominant definition of line work contrasted with areas of light and dark for example; groups of shapes with contrasting colours for an abstract maybe; colours with textures perhaps.

There’s often a natural affinity to using restraint on these elemental tools that works better than adding-in a bit of everything. As with, say, cooking, adding more and different spices does not necessarily make a better dish!

This is how I try to paint: I build my paintings from a couple of elements, very often, from shape and value – accented initially with a little line, and a little colour. Later, colour and texture play prominently, then more line, or edges add an extra zing whilst  I seek to maintain shape and value.

The idea of Balance

An overarching idea in composition is balance: it’s a constant yardstick and foundation. You don’t have to have balance…sometimes having an off-kilter feel can be an integral part of the image. However balance is certainly core in the vocabulary of composition.

Balance implies an equilibrium of opposites, or weights, and a couple of minutes of looking will reveal how this works for any given image. This common idea is embodied in our painting for the week. In The Fighting Temeraire, the ships are placed off to the left and balance with the sunset and the buoy in the foreground. The smaller forms on the right are farther out and therefore balance the heavier, more central-left forms – a classic seesaw balance:

A couple of other areas of balance to note are:

• The misty light of the Temeraire is balanced with the smaller, more intense dark of the tug.
• The mid-gound ships balance with the drama of the background and the buoy in the foreground (your eye is pulled back and forth actually because of that buoy).
• The definition of the lower half of the picture: buoy, ships, horizon, even the sunset-these forms all contrast with the larger and (relatively) calming sky that take up the full upper half of the painting.

Here are a couple of other examples:

Winslow Homer

As a watercolourist, Winslow Homer was an early influence and I was greatly inspired by his “Canoe in the Rapids” for it’s clarity and effect certainly, and equally in the casual, informal appeal. Here we have a classic central balance – there is no mistaking the focus of this picture. The tree lines are different, however similar weights balance left and right.

 

Frederic Remington:

Frederic Remington’s art caught my eye, in part because of a visit to the excellent namesake museum just over the border, in Ogdensburg, NY. In this painting, balance is between form, all on the left and blank space, all on the right.

Claude Monet

Here’s one of Monet’s few winter paintings. A classic seesaw composition with the gate off to one side, balanced by the weight of snow on the hedge – and the trees!

Exercise

1. This week, focus on the elements you use in constructing and developing your painting. Consider a predominant couple: line, shape, value, colour, texture and use the other elements more sparingly, at the start.
2. Let me know how you see the balance in your painting. There’s no right or wrong and I’m looking forward to discussing your ideas!
3. By all means use a reference of your choice or one from this Reference Gallery