Focus

[Steven Sweeney]

In the past I

[Julie Deane]

Thanks, Steven -

I've always loved your explanations, whether a critique or an explanatory essay, as you have done here.

You're focusing in (yes, that was intentional) on one aspect of an area of study I'm very intent on studying - that of composition. I was fortunate enough to be able to see the Andrew Wyeth exhibit in Atlanta. I have learned from my reading how carefully he designs his compositions, and, yes, absolutely, he has focal points, and leads the eye around the painting. To me, that is one of the key marks of the professional artist.

Without a good composition, including a focal point, a beautifully painted piece will be lacking.

I hope you will consider sharing more of your thoughts on other aspects of composition.

[Steven Sweeney]

Glad you found something here, Julie.

There is so much material, so many sources, that it can be overwhelming. Most of us spend too much time searching for magic, instead of ensuring that the fundamentals are in place.

Fundamentals are the magic. (That's what Jay Moore means when he says "This isn't a trick.") The rest is either pure genius, which I don't happen to have inherited, or paste jewelry, which is in abundance.

Composition first, using lines and values and focal areas. Failing that, your 3- or 53-pigment palette is irrelevant, because you're icing a cake made of crushed glass and bent steel.

It will now be a long hiatus, but I will come back to post traditional and contemporary portrait images, or URL links, that exemplify attention to focal areas in the composition. I would encourage any other members to do the same here, whenever they wish.

By the way, focal areas and "sight lines," or movement through the piece, are related but different concepts. Multiple focal areas aren't "acceptable" simply because there's a "sight line" moving the eye from one to the other. That's what Jay Moore is warning about, when talking about the mountain-river-tree movement of focus problem.

[Claudemir Bonfim]

I liked your article very much and I hope to read more articles like this in the future.

I always liked to focus on one point in my drawings and paintings, to have a focal area, it's good to know that it was not inappropriate.

[Carol Norton]

Thank you, Steven, for taking the time and effort to post such valuable lessons. You, too, should be writing regular articles that you are paid to write for an art magazine or an avenue like The World of Portrait Painting. You have a real way with words which = a gifted teacher.

[Michele Rushworth]

Thanks for this, Steven. I also enjoy Jay Moore's work (I think I learned about him through you).

I particularly liked your comparison between a strong simple composition and "a simple tune, played well". The fundamentals, thoroughly mastered, will accomplish more than all the other "sturm and drang" we can stir up and throw on the canvas.