An Exercise in Cropping

Ten paintings, all seen from exactly the same spot at Ogwen, in Snowdonia. 

They share the same light, and the same atmosphere. But the composition of each is radically different,  and this is caused simply by selecting different areas of the observed scene (i.e., cropping).

In fact, the ten paintings are merely cropped sections, taken from a single finished painting. 

The intention of this small exercise is to indicate the importance of cropping in compositional decision-making.

Traditionally artists have used a piece of card with a rectangle window cut out, so that they can look through it, move it around, and select which part of the view to paint. They may also do many quick, small (an inch or so wide) pencil sketches (called 'thumbnails') which helps them to isolate the part of the view which 'works'. Nowadays, artists may use cameras for the same purpose. 

Each one of the above cropped images could make a decent composition for a finished painting. 

Here are the cropped images seen a little larger, so that the atmosphere and composition can be seen a little clearer.

Sunny and open, this is a study of rocks and rolling hills. 

This includes some dark woodland, and some brighter rocky clusters, but largely concentrates on the bowl and the branches of a single tree.

The focus here is on the river, part of it close and part of it seen further down the valley, with the flat surfaces of the riverside boulders featuring in the foreground.

This composition concentrates on the contrast between the 'stumpiness' of the foreground rocks, and the 'spikiness' of the hanging branches. 

A study of rock formations can always be interesting, particularly when the palette and the contrast are limited, so the subtleties become important.

I always think of these kind of images, (a close and detailed study of grass, foliage, rocks, etc,) as being somewhat 'Pre-Raphaelite'. Like the previous picture it has a limited tonal and colour range, (but this time, much lower down on the scale).

This composition depends to some extent on perceived patterns and rhythms, with the uprights looking like a kind of barcode. It also reminds us that the success or otherwise of a landscape painting, however naturalistic on the surface, has to have a good abstract under-structure for it to hold together.

Moving water, rocks, spiky trees, dark and light contrasting areas, - this one has lots going for it.

It's also interesting to see how a different-shaped rectangle can produce a satisfactory image.

Zooming outwards a little gives us a more inclusive composition, which still (sqeeze your eye's together to see this better) works, largely due to the contrast of the simple dark mass of the surface on the left, and the lighter area to the right.

So, here below, is the painting 'Landscape with Pines', from which all the above compositions have been cropped.

Hopefully, this simple exercise demonstrates the variety of visual possibilities available from any particular viewpoint. The tried and tested technique of cropping (possibly with the small cardboard 'window') is still invaluable.

  quiz  quiz quiz  quiz  quiz   “details, details........,” quiz  quiz  quiz  quiz  quiz  

Any idea what is going on in this picture and who painted it?

 (The answer will be in the next posting.)

And here's the answer from the last posting -

 'The Judgement of Salomon' 

after Poussin.

  quiz  quiz quiz  quiz  quiz   “details, details........,” quiz  quiz  quiz  quiz  quiz  

"Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something every day, for no matter how little it is, it will be worth while, and it will do you a world of good." 

Cennino Cennini

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Music

By the way, recently I've been using some of my naturalistic landscapes, figure paintings and life drawings, alongside some music, in a series of YouTube videos based at  

Songs From Wales. 

You're very welcome to take a quick look if you have the time.

These songs can also be found on (and downloaded from) iTunes, Spotify, CDBaby, and many other platforms, - (my intention is to upload a different song each month)

Also in the last period I've been recording some songs with some friends - 
please have a listen here if you have the time.

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. .  and now, a Recommended Read . . 

'The Thomas Sowell Reader'

By Thomas Sowell  

Published by Basic Books

A one-volume introduction to over three decades of the wide-ranging writings of one of America's most respected and cited authors.

The Thomas Sowell Reader includes essays on:Social Issues: Economics: Political Issues: Legal Issues: Race and Ethnicity: Educational Issues: Biographical Sketches: Random Thoughts & Ideas. 

"My hope is that this large selection of my writings will reduce the likelihood that readers will misunderstand what I have said on many controversial issues over the years. Whether the reader will agree with all my conclusions is another question entirely. But disagreements can be productive, while misunderstandings seldom are." 

Thomas Sowell.

Thomas Sowell has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other academic institutions, and his Basic Economics has been translated into six languages. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has published in both academic journals and such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investors Business Daily, and Fortune, and he writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country.

Review from Amazon. 

<My wikipedia page is here>

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