From raw materials to delicious arrangement - making the composition greater than the sum of it's parts

Composition. This is the fun part of image making, yet one which is so often completely ignored! That word 'fun' nicely segues into fundamental - composition is the fundamental ingredient that makes a painting worth creating at all, or not bothering. It need not take long. Or it might take ages. Either way,  if you fail to plan your composition, then you plan to fail. 

a multitude of apples

Early in the term, I piled the studio tables with subject matter - apples, 'shiny things' and fabrics. The students then had to take some of each, and create their own arrangement. 

selection of shiny objects

a mountain of material

The fun begins! Reflective objects give so many ways to play with colour. Patterns can look like fairground mirrors, from the grotesque to the ridiculous... 

..and popping an apple into a shiny bowl changes the colour of the interior of the bowl, and creates a 'new' tone. Delicious! 

Changing the view point offers more opportunities to change the look of the creation. And zooming in closely changes the atmosphere., making it feel more intimate. 

We must never 'blame' the objects for being 'boring' - it is down to US to make the ordinary look enticing and interesting. Playing with lighting and changing the height of the arrangement is also great. In fact, all good still life set-ups should be able to offer many different possible compositional outcomes. 

Give it a try! It'll get your creative juices flowing and deliver that 'inspiration' factor that often only arrives after you begin! 

For info on upcoming classes including weekly drawing and painting classes and the April portrait workshop, please email julie@juliedouglas.co.uk