FOLLOWING AND
BREAKING RULES
Traditional art teachers often instill in their students certain
tried and tested rules:
Never put your subject in the middle.
Every picture needs a focal point, preferably one-
third of the way in from the side and one-third of
the way up or down the page.
Keep the darkest areas at the bottom.
Avoid placing objects at the extreme edges.The rules provide a safe approach to composition but not
always an exciting one. If you go into an art gallery, the
paintings you are most likely to notice are the ones that are
the least predictable. Of course, you might not like them,
but that is subjective. How often have you disagreed with
the judge's choice for best of show?
If you try to make paintings that please everyone, you will
be inhibiting your own creativity and most likely repeat-
ing what has been done before. Recognize that viewers
and artists are all different and that this makes everything
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24 I CREATIVE PAI N T WORKSHOP