(C) 2019 Dale DiMauro
Developing a composition is fascinating in my mind's eye. This photograph I took on a hike inspired the small sketch above on the left. There is something captivating about the light and shadows as it rolls across the contours of the land at this time of year.
However, the photograph is way too busy. As a result the viewer does not know what to focus on. By eliminating many of the unnecessary smaller trees and branches while shifting the large tree trunk off center a bit you create some depth in the picture. Ultimately, this draws the viewer into the landscape.
One off-center tree creates a natural arch to frame the scene. Or not. The guardrail has been eliminated because it divides the picture in half. Finally, one can now describe that big tree trunk with some details such as the pattern of the bark or the characteristics of it's branching.
These are some of the thoughts that race across my mind as excitement builds toward turning these ideas into a potential painting.
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