Many students think that they know a lot about composition. Usually they rush to learn more about color or brushwork, thinking that is what is wrong with their paintings. Nearly always they are wrong. Partly this is because composition in most books on painting is treated very superficially, when in fact it is a very broad and highly complex subject. I prefer to think of composition as the essence of the painting, not something you do to make the painting better. In fact you cannot distinguish the painting and the composition. They are one and the same thing. It is always the composition that distinguishes the masters from the amateurs, and the competition prize winners from the rest.

This set of course units goes into depth into all the key concepts of design and composition. We describe all the major principles and illustrate each of them with both examples of how to do it, and how not to do it. You will learn:

• Space division: how to layout the space in your painting effectively, including principles such as the Golden Mean, rabatment of the rectangle, overlapping form, transitions, right angles, and counterpoint
• Focal Points: how to increase the interest in your painting using techniques such as active versus passive, primary and seconday focal areas, when and where to use detail effectively
• Eye Pathways: how to control your viewer's eye movement to increase interest in your paintings
• Design: critical elements such as shape variety, rhythm, balance , repetition, and variety
• Line: the element of line in your composition and how to take advantage of it

A solid understanding of the principles of design and composition is essential to the visual music of your work. This set of courses contains 58 pages of lecture notes in six separate course units, 28 compositional principles defined with examples and illustrations, over 40 of Barry John Raybould's paintings analyzed for compositional principles, and 27 assignments to help you build your skills.

Buy all six Design & Composition courses at once and save $40 off the list price! Full price for all six modules would be $90.00, you pay only $49.95.

The Design and Composition package includes:

• Design & Composition Unit 1 - Space Division 1
• Design & Composition Unit 2 - Space Division 2
• Design & Composition Unit 3 - Focal Points
• Design & Composition Unit 4 - Eye Movement
• Design & Composition Unit 5 - Variety
• Design & Composition Unit 6 - Line