Thank you for watching this video on choosing images to paint.
All of these images are free to use for paintings.
Digital reproductions of any kind other than sharing this video are not allowed without
permission.
Painting is about understanding
How will you successfully paint a scene if you don't know what you like about it?
A pretty picture does not make a pretty painting.
Photos can make their success easily in detail.
Painters have to be more careful with composition and color.
Strong light is a great subject.
Color in the light and shadow areas are very interesting.
L compositions are effective since they add a lower support and odd numbered division.
Triangular compositions are also effective due to that strong lower support.
Aerial Perspective is the shifts of value and color seen with distance.
Distant objects have less value contrast and more color contrast.
They're usually lighter and more blue.
Paths are very effective tools.
Sometimes it's a literal path.
Other time it's the shapes and groupings that make interesting diagonals and curves.
Think of the diagonals more than the curves since very smooth paths look unnatural.
People talk a lot about diving the canvas into thirds.
It's more an odd numbered division that makes it interesting.
Most canvases are too small for 7 major divisions, so that's why thirds is so popular.
Avoiding doubles is a better rule.
For example, two identical trees spaced at thirds is still boring.
Capturing people in the middle of something is a sure way to create a connection.
People love to watch other people.
The Circular Composition is not as common.
Basically all edges of the painting are framed and multiple focal points are set up.
It's a bit like the triangle composition, but with more focal points.
To wrap it up, you need to understand why a scene should be painted, and know your own
limitations.
Generally, a scene that looks great because of detail is going to be hard to pull off
in paint.
Focus on the composition, colors, and lighting effects in the scene.
Happy Painting