Inspiration

Part 3 Andy Walker discusses the value of using thirds, fifths and rabatment in your paintings

If you have been painting for any time at all I am sure you will have come across at least one of the compositional tools I will be discussing in this article – the ‘rule of thirds’. This is a handy way of deciding where to place objects in your painting, especially the focal point. As a rule, it is not a good idea to place your focal point slap bang in the centre of your painting, but we must be aware of this, as there is a natural tendency to do so. As artists we need to be conscious of how we construct our pictures, and this is where the ‘rule of thirds’ comes in.

Our tools

The way we compose our pictures should ideally be hidden from the viewer, but without the following compositional techniques, we risk making paintings that do not quite hit the mark. The underlying composition is like the hidden bones in our bodies; without a skeleton we have no form. It is this structure that gives us shape.