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How can you improve uninteresting paintings?
Is your composition boring and uninteresting? One quick technique to add more visual interest and keep your viewer’s attention is to make sure you add a variety of shapes in your compositions.
For example, as you divide space in a painting, ensure that there is variety in the sizes of each shape created by the divisions. Not only should the space division on your painting support be unequal and have shape variety, but any repetitive shapes like buildings, trees, and other elements should also have shape variety.
What is shape variety?
Note in this painting how each building is different in size and shape. Both the width and the height of the buildings are all different. In the actual scene on which this painting was based, the buildings were much more uniform in size.
Note in this painting how each fence post is different in size and shape. Both the width and the height of the posts are all different. Also the washing on the line are different shapes and sizes, although they are variations on one hue so they still feel unified and act as a contrast to the blue/greens in the background. Even the painting itself is divided into different sized areas. The fence posts in the foreground create one area, the building and clothes create another and the distant trees and hills make a third area.
Shape variety do’s and dont’s
Do this:
In this example all three shapes are different sizes, making for a more interesting composition. Notice there is a large, medium, and small shape.
Avoid this:
In this example all three shapes are the same size.
There is no variety.
In this example the shapes are in interesting positions.
Although the shapes are different sizes, the orderly arrangement is not interesting. Vary the positioning of the shapes as well as the shapes themselves.
In particular, avoid creating a succession of increasing sized shapes.
To learn more about improving unity and variety in your paintings
For more tips and techniques for creating shape variety in your paintings, join the Virtual Art Academy® Apprentice Program.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you find it useful. If you would like to get free painting tips by email, please sign up for my free tips newsletter.
If you are interested in a structured approach for learning how to paint, take a look at my online painting classes.
Happy painting!
Barry John Raybould
Virtual Art Academy
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The Virtual Art Academy program is really comprehensive and gave me all the information and directives to learn painting in one package. The material is very well organized, just beautiful to look at and motivating to carry through. The online campus is a wonderful place to meet other artists and receive critical feedback on my… Read more “I started learning oil painting with VAA from scratch. Just one year later my paintings started to sell”
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Since I started the programme I can see improvements in my composition and use of colour
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