A comment about my composition changed how I frame everything now

I posted a landscape piece on here a few weeks ago and someone pointed out my horizon line was dead center. They said it made the image feel flat and static. I was a little annoyed at first, but I tried moving the horizon lower on my next painting and it made a huge difference. The whole scene had more depth and drama. Anyone else have a simple critique that stuck with them and changed their process?

2 comments

2 Comments

derekwalker12d ago

Oh boy, here we go. So I got told once that my paintings looked like they were shot from a security camera because everything was perfectly centered and nothing was cropped. I was offended for about two seconds before I realized they were right. Now I basically refuse to put anything in the middle of the frame unless I'm being lazy, which is often. It's like when someone points out you've had food stuck in your teeth for an hour and now you can't unsee it.

amy30213d ago

My friend's a painter and he told me the same thing about his compositions, and it got me thinking about how we naturally put ourselves in the center of everything. Like how in photos with friends we always notice if we're the one on the edge, but the best group shots have everyone off-center doing something interesting. That horizon line thing really does make you see the whole picture different.