When it comes to making stronger compositions, lots of factors come into play. However, an undocumented factor is definitely our own intuition. In this blog, I am going to share an example of a painting in which intuition played a key role to make a composition successful.
Good initially but better composition later
When I made a rough sketch of how I planned my painting “Happy Balance” to look like, it looked all fine. In fact, I was confident that the idea would look great if I paint it on actual canvas.
However, when I sketched the painting on canvas, something was off. I wanted a better composition. There was too much negative space.
I knew what went wrong intuitively. There was too much space in the background. The composition didn’t just feel right. The whole point of this blog is the “feel right” part.
Perhaps I had drawn the elements of my initial plan a bit smaller on the actual canvas. Another reason could have been that I chose a wrong size of the canvas. Anyway, I needed to fix what didn’t feel right to get a stronger composition.
Compose your art while listening to your intuition
Fixing the composition is not as easy as it sounds. If you are stuck too, perhaps my process can help you.
It was tough to come up with the solution to make a better composition of an already planned idea. It was tough because I already knew in my mind what each element in my composition meant. Every element represented something to me. I already knew the meaning of my art as I was the artist.
Making sure of not messing up with the meaning of my art was my biggest challenge. I started painting my sketch on canvas anyway. Going back and erasing and sketching again was not an option as it would have created several unwanted marks on canvas.
Additionally, whenever such instances occur in the process of making an oil painting, I believe it’s happening for something better for the art and for me. I believe so due to trust in the universe and also due to the forgiving and flexible nature of the oil paints.
Anyway, I kept on painting on my initial sketch. After each session of painting, I looked at my art from distance and the negative space still didn’t feel right at top and bottom of the composition.
Brainstorming to get better at composition
I knew there was some fixing needed but I still didn’t know of the fix. I kept painting and looking at my artwork from near and far. All this while, my mind was occasionally brainstorming solution to get better composition.
It finally hit me on one fine day how to get better at composition without compromising the meaning and message of the art. In fact, the additional elements amplified what the painting stands for!
Trust your intuition to make a composition successful
With the changes done, the main figure of my painting was not just hanging in air. She was standing on stairs and these stairs put more emphasis on her and what she was looking at.
The elements added at the top added more phases to the main figure’s life and it only made her life look more fulfilling.
“Happy Balance” is an oil painting featuring a lady who balances different aspects of her life in the best possible manner. This unique balance might not be perfect. However, it is understood by her and symbolizes her happy place in her current life situation.
The lady in artwork is looking forward and the different shapes and blocks symbolize different aspects of one’s life.
Compose your art intuitively
I can call the composition of “Happy Balance” successful because it felt right. My intuition finally approved of the art.
Additionally, the response I got from my audience was overwhelming. Most of the people who saw it went out of their way in praising this artwork with their kind words.
While you must know about all the principles of composition, you must also be aware of your gut feeling about the art. Additionally, you must be ready to take the risk of fixing the composition to get something better!
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