A good painting starts with an idea: what made you want to paint the subject, what do you want to communicate about it. "Design" is the series of decisions you make about space, color, size, texture, edges, line and directions, orchestrating all of those in a way that supports the main idea.
Choose a Canvas Shape - As soon as you pick a particular canvas, you have already made an important design decision: the proportion of length to width. This is important because all lines in a painting relate to the picture's edges. A tall, skinny rectangle will dictate different lines than a more balanced rectangle or a square.
Divide the Canvas - How you divide the canvas shape will greatly affect the picture. Dividing the canvas with unequal yet balanced proportions is usually more successful than symmetry.
Locate the Center of Interest - Decide what the center of interest will be and where to place it. You want to divide shapes and spaces unequally to keep the design more dynamic, so it is best to place the center of interest away from the mathematical center of the canvas.
Choose What to Include - Nature is complex; everything you see is not necessarily going to make the best painting. Arrange and rearrange nature components. Pick and choose what is important; what is not, leave out.
Plan the Distribution of Shapes - Consider the aesthetic spatial order: How do your choices relate to your idea?
Plan the Distribution of Value and Color - Poetic expression includes reducing the elements, tone, color, brushwork and shapes into the most concise answer.
From "Landscape Painting Inside & Out" by Kevin Macpherson
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