‘The question is not what you look at, it’s what you see.’ Henry David Thoreau Thoreau was pointing out the difference between the senses and perception, something I think artists train themselves to do, often without knowing it. At college during the late 1960s we were trained in basic design and composition, which left us with a distinct ability to look at the world in a certain way, and this helped enormously when it came to picture making.
There are several basic design principles, varying in number according to various authorities, including: hierarchy, emphasis, balance, proportion, rhythm, pattern, repetition, movement, contrast, variety and unity. To these I would add the use of white or negative space. Nowhere are these considerations more important than when landscape painting. All this to bear…
