Mastering Composition: Techniques and Principles to Dramatically Improve Your Painting (Mastering (North Light Books)) [Hardcover]

Ian Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2007 | Series: Mastering (North Light Books)

Create Better Compositions by Design

The path to better painting begins with Mastering Composition. This effective guide blends clear, visual instruction with 5 step-by-step demonstrations to show you how to plan and paint your best work yet.

Composition is the key, and here you'll learn to design paintings with new skill and confidence. It all begins with the armature or structure of the picture plane. Every great painting has one, and you'll see through several famous examples exactly how the Old Masters used armatures to create movement, narrative, harmony and fluidity. Based on these examples, you'll practice what you've learned following a series of hands-on demonstrations.

Once you understand the basic principles of design, you'll be amazed at how quickly and effectively your compositions come together. Soon you will be painting more boldly and confidently than ever before with less reworking and overworking.

Whether you're a beginner looking for basic instruction or a more advanced painter troubleshooting a specific problem, the proven methods in this book will work for you. Ideal for all mediums, Mastering Composition gives you the knowledge you need to create powerful paintings out of every subject.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ian Roberts has been painting for over 40 years. His father was a painter and Ian accompanied him on painting trips from the time he was ten. He attended the New School of Art and the Ontario College of Art in Toronto. He studied figure painting in Florence, Italy. He has taught plein air painting in Provence, France and Tuscany, Italy, as well as in the U.S. through his school Atelier Saint-Luc, named after the patron saint of painters. Ian shows in the U.S. and Canada, is an artist member of the California Art Club and a signature member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. He is the author of the book Creative Authenticity and created two videos, Mastering Composition" and "Plein Air Painting". He is a popular workshop instructor specializing in composition. He lives on Georgian Bay in Ontario Canada."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; Har/DVD edition (November 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581809247
• ISBN-13: 978-1581809244
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.8 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A gifted teacher demonstrates composition February 22, 2008

By William Polm VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This author/painter makes essential points for understanding painting composition, one of the budding artist's most allusive challenges.
But what sets this book apart is its brilliant teaching methods. As an example, among several possible, is the DVD that accompanies the book, in which the author gives the reader a tour of paintings, showing in each what happens when he changes something. Thus the reader gets to see the effects of the changes, experiencing them in a hard-hitting way.
If you're struggling with composition, this is a good book for you. If you know composition, it is still an excellent review.

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mastering Your Creative Core By Using Shapes, Their Arrangement, And Visual Flow August 2, 2008

By Thomas M. Loarie TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Artist and author Ian Roberts has given us a gem of a book with his recently published "Mastering Composition." This book is an outgrowth of two events in Roberts life. As a child, Canadian Roberts joined his dad and his dad's artist friends on an annual plein aire painting trip to the United States. At the end of each day, the painters discussed and criticized one another's work. Much of the discussion centered on composition - "foregrounds were too cluttered," what works for the eye in the painting, and what does not.

Then, later, as a professional artist and teacher, he noticed that most of his students created paintings that were superficial and "looked like postcards." He decided to focus on getting his students to use their creative core and think "behind" the subject matter: "think first about shapes, their arrangement in the picture plane; and the visual flow being created in the painting."

"Mastering Composition," according to Roberts, could have just as easily been titled, "Shapes, Shapes, and Shapes" with the subtitle, "Their arrangement, interaction, and flow on the picture plane."

The book begins with an excellent discourse on what composition is and how one can use the book to grow as an artist. He is insistent on self-directed study which includes doing one composition (sketch) per day for one year. The book is very well written, includes practical rules to follow, and is illustrated with plenty of before and after demonstrations, as well as examples from Masters of the 19th and 20th Century.

"Mastering Composition" is organized around six subjects: Armatures - how to arrange shapes and how to create coherent flow; Abstract Masses - how to think in value masses not in subjects; Color Shapes - how these are all that we really have to create meaning, how to understand them and use them effectively to express our creative core; Guiding the eye through a picture plane; Gallery of the Greats - 19th and 20th Century Masters; and, Your Artistic Voice.

Ian Roberts is a great teacher and a great communicator of concepts. This book will provide valuable insights into the painting process and the creation of meaning from one's creative core. "Mastering Composition" is a must-have book for all painters.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic art instruction book January 2, 2008

By James Pullman

Format:Hardcover

Ian Roberts' "Mastering Composition" is the perfect instruction book for a painter like myself who needs to strengthen his compositions. Mr. Roberts is a practiced artist himself, and one of the most articulate teachers I've come across. His exercises are organized, and detailed in a way that makes for productive results. I've owned the book for a month, and already feel I'm creating more intelligent paintings because of Mr. Roberts' insightful critiques and sensitive ways of seeing.