There are two composition techniques you can use that will help you to create great paintings. They are rebatment of the rectangle and the golden ratio.
Composition is how you arrange various elements in your painting to create a pleasing and eye-catching arrangement. It is paramount to whether or not your painting will be a strong and interesting work or a weak and disordered one. When the composition is done well, you do not notice it so much. There is something interesting about the painting that you find appealing. However, when it is done poorly, the painting doesn’t look quite right and feels awkward.
Creating a good composition will be challenging initially, and you will have to work at producing a strong one; however, it will become second nature with practice. Here are two easy composition techniques that you can use to improve your oil paintings dramatically.
Rabatment of The Rectangle
One method for creating better compositions is called rabatment of the rectangle. Rabatment is a way to divide up the space within a rectangular shape to create a square with four equal sides equal to the short side of the rectangle. In other words, it is the perfect square that is found inside any rectangle.
For each landscape (horizontal) rectangle, there is either a right or left rabatment. And for each portrait (vertical) rectangle, there is an upper or lower. See diagram.
It is within these squares that you would place the most important aspects of your composition, thereby creating a center of interest. Compositions are much more interesting to view if the focal point is not located directly in the center of your canvas.
When you use this simple technique to compose your oil paintings, you are more likely to create a unified, harmonious, and balanced composition.
In your next painting try enclosing the main center of interest inside the rabatment square. You can use either upper or lower square on a vertically oriented canvas or left or right square on a horizontally oriented canvas. The elements outside of the rabatment should compliment the center of interest that is located within the square.
The Golden Ratio
The golden ratio is the next composition technique we’ll discuss, and it’s a little more complicated than the first. It is a mathematical ratio found in nature that can be used in a painting to create pleasing, harmonious proportions. It has many names, with the most common ones being the Golden Section, Golden Ratio, or Golden Mean. Some lesser-known names for this rule are called the Golden Number, Divine Proportion, Golden Proportion, Divine Section, Golden Cut, Fibonacci Number, and Phi (pronounced “fie”).
The golden ratio isn’t merely a definition; it’s an actual ratio of 1:1.618. A simple way to demonstrate this ratio is by using a rectangle with a width of 1 and a length of 1.618. Within this rectangle is a square with a ratio of 1:1 and another rectangle with a ratio of 1:1.618. If you were to draw another square within the smaller rectangle, once again, you have a 1:1 ratio square and another rectangle whose proportions are 1:1.618, just like the larger original rectangle. You can continue to divide the resulting smaller rectangle as before on into infinity. Give it a try.
The golden ratio can create beauty and balance in the layout and design of all your paintings. Note the point where the diagonal lines intersect. That particular point is key when using this ratio to compose your paintings. You want to place your key elements or focal point at this intersection. As already stated, the golden ratio is infinitely divisible. This means multiple intersections can be identified where sub-elements of a scene can be placed.
Great compositions aren’t created by chance. They necessitate a great deal of thought, planning, patience, and visual familiarity. It should, however, become easier for you if you use these composition techniques.
Additional Reading
Creating Better Compositions In All Your Paintings
Principles of Good Design: An Introduction
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