Open vs. Closed Composition

Before I reveal the winner of the giveaway I thought I would talk a bit about composition.  Now there are many elements within composition (symmetry/asymmetry, balance, harmony, etc.) but I just want to focus on open vs. closed, a basic understanding that I try to teach the kids.

So here are some pears. A great subject matter for Fall and this arrangement is a CLOSED composition.  Why is it closed, the focus is just on those 3 pears.  A closed composition tends to be kind of static, getting the viewer to focus on the subject matter within boundaries. Lots of still life's and portraits are considered closed composition.

Now let's look at this arrangement.  This is an OPEN composition. Parts of the pears are extending off the picture and you can imagine them beyond the boundaries.  Often lots of landscapes are very open compositions.

  Now it can sometimes get confusing when you look at a painting/picture that is considered a closed composition but the background is open.  I tell the kids to focus on what is going on in the foreground.

Here is a good example of what I'm talking about.  This composition is closed.  In fact, the manger defines the boundaries of where you should be looking, but the background could extend on.

Nativity Silhouette Project

Now here is another example of a closed composition, Cimabue's "Madonna Enthroned" (1280), a picture I took at the Louvre in Paris.  This is very closed with border/boundary built right in.  Although those angels are right at the edges their wings are painted complete and they themselves become the border, especially if you look at the arm positions of the 2 bottom angels, focusing your attention on the Madonna and Christ child.  This is good one to use to test your understanding!

Here is an example of an open composition, the focal point is on those dandelion seeds with the wishes printed on them but you can imagine lots of them being blown right off the page and into the wind.

Dandelion Poetry Project

Here is good example of an open composition by Edgar Degas "The Rehearsal" around 1874. You can imagine yourself in that rehearsal hall with dancers practicing all around you, your eye trying to take them all in.

So here is a good project to try with the kids.  Have them do both an open and closed composition of the same subject matter and display the 2 together.  For the closed composition you can just set up the still life but for the open you may have to get them to view it through a old mat or frame.  You can also add a photography component.  Get them to photograph an open composition and then paint the view.

Next time you are viewing a work of art or photograph ask yourself  "Is this an open or closed composition?"

On to the Giveaway results.  I had 61 entries total from both the comment section and email.

Using Random.Org we get:

Here are your random numbers:

7

Timestamp: 2011-09-09 16:55:25 UTC

So our winner (number assigned by time entered) is:

Dale Anne Potter:

Oh I would SO LOVE this DVD - I caught one of the episodes on PBS and wished I'd seen the others.
THANK YOU for this opportunity and for your FABULOUS blog (that I usually read via Google Reader)!

Sept 5th, 2011 6:03pm

So Dale if you could email me your shipping details at thatartistwoman@shaw.ca

I will get your new DVD series off to you right away.  Thanks everyone for entering and I'll see you next week.

Art Elements: Rule of Thirds in Composition

I thought I would add a few of these lessons on the basics...I'm going to call them Art Elements.

In my experience I find that people, myself included at times, can easily get intimidated by art.  Now I'm very passionate about art but very practical. That's why my tutorials are step by step with pictures because I know what it's like trying to figure this whole "art" thing out. I'm always learning!


........anyhow enough of my rambling.  The picture on the left is Emerald Lake .  One of the amazing places I like to visit that is close by,( in Canadian terms).

This is a picture that my husband took, (I have trained him quite well) as a reference for painting. Composition wise, with a few changes it is terrific.  Now why does this work.....

Now there are lots of "rules" out there about composition. (the Golden mean, magic x, no 2 intervals should be the same, etc.) but I usually talk about the "Rule of Thirds".  I like to get the kids thinking about fractions.

Basically, when you look at your picture you want to imagine that it's divided into 3 equal parts both vertically and horizontally.

Now often students want to put the focal point of their picture in the center.

But for a viewer it is more appealing, dynamic, etc. if it's put in, what I'm going to call, a sweet spot.

The "sweet" spots are the intersections of your 3rds.

If it helps you can imagine that red square or rectangle, (depending on whether it's portrait or landscape orientated), and look at the corners of it.

So let's go back to our Emerald lake picture.  Here I've taken a sketch I did of it and let's divide it up.

Now looking at our "sweet" spots we are immediately drawn to 2 of them.  The mountain and then, (on the diagonal...the eye loves those diagonals) the lodge.  O.K. the lodge is a bit off the sweet spot but your eye is drawn down to it.

We also have that nice dark shadow opposite it which makes it work as well.

If I use the "magic X" rule this works here as well.  You divide your picture up with an X in the middle.  Your focal point needs to be anywhere on one of the arms of that x but not in the center.

Another thing that makes this composition work is the placement of line.  We have that nice mountain horizon line in the upper third of our picture. (again works with the "rule of thirds").  I talked further about Horizon Lines in this post.


We also have that nice bridge to follow with that bump of the lodge( lower third of the picture) and connecting them that wonderful dynamic diagonal tree line.

So what would I change.....not a lot but maybe work with a longer piece of wc paper so I show slightly more of the lake pushing the lodge closer to the sweet spot...but really this is pretty good as it stands. 

Let's try another..... here is a sketch of a picture my husband took of Montmarte in Paris.

I'm not showing the photo as a very weary looking traveller is in it.(me)

We divide up our sketch....the church is in that upper sweet spot again......

and we have some people near our lower sweet spot.

and hey we also have a nice shadow on the bottom....in the actual picture the palm tree by the flag is reflecting a ton of sunlight and unfortunately I didn't capture it....when I attempt this painting I will add it.

Now both of the sketches I've shown were vertical but the "Rule of Thirds" works for horizontal composition as well.


When you look at this sketch I did in Maui imagine a red rectangle in the center.....what's going on in the sweet spots?

Hope this helps and I didn't just confuse things.

Mini Landscapes- A lesson in Horizon Lines

Part of teaching art is dealing with concepts that can be "boring" for kids.  By this I mean all the guidelines for composition, color theory, tonal value, etc........So I'm always trying to find projects to teach them basic concepts but are a bit more fun.  When you deal with composition you are trying to instill that "artist's eye", that sense of proportion that captures attention.

One of the main guidelines for composition is the Horizon Line or if you want to get fancy "eye level line or line of sight".  I use Horizon Line as kids in Division 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3)  quickly grasp what a horizon is, we just look out the window. (Horizon: where the sky and the earth meet)

If you ask a child to draw a horizon line, chances are they will take a piece of paper and draw a line horizontally smack dab in the middle or will use the bottom edge of the paper as their horizon line so everything tends to be "floating".

We want to teach them the rule of 3rds but me talking about it won't get their attention they need to see for themselves and this is where my mini landscapes come in.  Incidently this is an important concept for all you adult artists so give it a try.

Some of the things I collect for school are old calendars and mats.  You need both for this project.  You can also make a mat using paper strips taped together.  Take a good landscape image and ask each student to place the mat on the picture and find a good view.  Often kids choose a view with the horizon dead center.

Get them to move it around until they find a few good views.  At this point I'll bring up the "rule of 3rds", how the picture seems more captivating if the sky and land are unequal....  if the horizon is in the lower third or the upper third of the picture.  I also talk about putting an object of interest (like a tree, mountain) off center.                                                             Take some watercolor paper and divide into sections.  Here I'm using 9.5x11 paper so I'm just dividing into quarters....if your picture is larger you can have more sections.  Each area is only about 3x4 or so don't make them too large. (than it won't be a mini)

Using painter's masking tape, tape off your sections.

Select a view and start painting it.   Then move your mat around for a second view and paint it.

Keep painting 4 different views with the horizon in different proportion.  For really young kids keep it simple, blue sky, the ground, and maybe a tree.

Leave to dry fully and then remove the tape.  You can keep it as one page or cut into sections.  A good display is showcasing the series of mini landscapes with the reference photo.

After completion I ask the kids to pick their favorite view and lo and behold it is usually a horizon in the lower or upper third.  Give it a try and I'll see you next time.