Can composition be made easy? I’m not sure, but I know one thing it doesn’t have to be: Bound by Rules.
When people are talking about composition they love to hand out rules. The Rule of the Focal Point. The Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Odds. The Rule of Overlapping. The Rule of Leading Lines.
So many rules. You might feel like quitting before you start.
I was luckier than that. The fashion when I went to art school was for concept and idea, not for rules of composition. So I never learned them and I get to keep making up things as I go along. What follows is a description of each rule, and a painting that breaks it. If I can do it, you can too.
Rule of the Focal Point: The focal point is the main subject of a painting. Paintings need a focal point or the viewer, who is easily distracted, becomes confused.
Breaking the Rule
Rule of Thirds: You must divide your canvas into thirds vertically and horizontal and place your focal point at the intersection of one of the thirds. Otherwise the viewer’s eye is drawn straight into the centre of the image and ignores the rest of the picture.
Breaking the Rule
Rule of Odds: A composition isn’t dynamic unless there’s an uneven number of elements in it.
Breaking the Rule
Rule of Overlapping: Elements in a painting must either be definitely apart or definitely overlapped. Anything else creates a weak, connected shape which will distract the viewer’s eye. Those easily distracted viewers again.
Breaking the Rule
Rule of Leading Lines: Always lead the viewer’s eyes into the centre of your painting or they will wander off the edge and the viewer will go buy something else.
Breaking the Rule
There. Rules are made to be broken. What to do in place of them? Use both light and dark colours. Remember that the edges of your painting are as important as your subject. Avoid the middle distance unless you’re really sure of yourself – sticking to a foreground and a background is a lot easier. Take more out than you put in. Don’t assume the first way you see something is the only way you can see it. Move things around until they seem most interesting.
Make it fun.
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This article was originally published as a blog post in 2016 and has been updated for 2025