PLANNING A PAINTING  WORKING TO A STORY

1 Compositional grid

Here I have overlaid the compositional grid so that you can see how I used it to structure the main shapes. This was a scene that didn’t possess a great focus but the other elements of lead in and backdrop were present. I have the grid superimposed on my camera screen and this allows me to move around and select a pleasing arrangement. Notice how I used around two-thirds foreground and placed the track to meet the building around the top right intersection of the grid lines to offset it. The building provides some interest, but is not strong enough to act as a standalone focus because the values are similar to the surrounding trees.

2 Adding shadows

Using my photo editing software, I made some lighting adjustments, sampling colours from the photograph to give the design an air of realism. I wasn’t trying to achieve perfection, it was more to get a feel of how my ideas might work. By bringing the light more from the left I introduced some cast shadows to enhance the land profiles and to bring some better shape into the building. I also added a window frame detail to help with keeping the viewer interested. These adjustments alone make the image more dynamic.

3 Adding a focus

Next, I used some images of sheep from my own databank and sketched these into the scene using the graphic tablet and pen. Multiple shapes like these will always keep the eye interested; by adding the animals I shifted the focus, placing the building in a supporting role rather than centre stage. All these adjustments took a little while, but the resulting reference meant I could confidently get on with the painting.