SUBJECT, IDEA and CONCEPT

A good habit to get in to right from the start is to look for the SUBJECT in every painting that you look at. You will usually find it using the Rule of Thirds: divide the painting into thirds vertically and horizontally. The subject is usually placed at one of the intersections. It is a good idea in the beginning to use this placement for your subject too. There are so many things to consider when constructing a painting let's leave the tricky stuff for later.

Next, try to figure out what the artist's IDEA about his subject is. How the light falls on an object is a very popular idea in contemporary realistic art. Feel free to use others such as gloom- I would use dark muted colors, dominant horizontal lines and heavy shapes. Line, color, and shape are your tools. Use them to express an idea.

A great example of a strong idea is Edvar Munch's The Scream. That's an IDEA.

Once, I used the idea of space. I tried to put as much space in a small canvas as I could cram. I used  a hilly landscape so that I could use undulating, curving lines with many vanishing points stretching into the distance. I used a snowy landscape so that I could use cold colors because they felt expansive to me. Other ideas are: passion , humor, action, calm, peace, hot and humid. Think about what types of line,color, shapes you would use to paint these ideas. Use your own creativity. Chances are others will have similar feelings about your choices.

The CONCEPT is my plan of attack:  landscape, figure in a landscape, still life, figure, interior, complete abstraction or combination of real subject in abstracted setting and any other style you can think up. In my example above my subject was less important that my idea and concept. My subject happened to be a barn. I put it in the upper right third to add to the sense of space.

You see how all of this can get a bit tricky. Sometimes you have the idea and concept first and the subject is incidental. This is the case a lot of the time in landscape. I had a hard time understanding subject in landscape especially impressionist. I've learned to look for it using the Rule of Thirds. The subject should be the most attractive item in the painting. This is where you usually find the darkest darks and lightest lights. Faces are very attractive so be careful when using them to decorate your picture if they are on other figures other than your subject. The eye is attracted to objects with uneven, irregular shapes. Sameness is boring in composition. The subject can be what the painting is about but usually in landscape it's just a focal point or a point of attraction that says: "Come on in and look around." Many successful landscapes are about Ideas.

Try to get in the habit of thinking Subject, Idea, and Concept before you design your painting for stronger results.