How To Paint Around The Focal Point For Your Landscape Painting

Having a focal point, or a center of interest, helps to create a better composition because you can build everything around the center of interest. It also helps to set up value relationships because you can decide where your darkest dark and lightest light are based on your focal point. And it helps with the intensity of your color because you can keep everything in the painting muted and place your strongest color on or around the focal point.
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[@bradad2026]

Thank you for highlighting the genius of Arthur Streeton. Greetings from Sydney, Australia.

[@philstarke.artist]

Thanks! You might also like the video I did on Elioth Gruner: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXOYdoRqqLt6bbs

[@bradad2026]

@@philstarke.artist 'Spring Frost' is one of my favourite paintings. It's here in the NSW Art Gallery and if I find myself in the city I'll often call in to marvel at it.

[@ECoriolan]

Nice video ; as often it is very pleasing to discover with you painters not so well known . Thank you , Greetings from France

[@philstarke.artist]

Thank you very much! Would love to come to France sometime

[@ECoriolan]

then we would visit Musée d'Orsay together ! 🖼🎨🏛👨‍🎨

[@vancouversunny77]

Thank you 👍

[@philstarke.artist]

You're welcome! I hope you found it useful

[@didgeridooblue]

Do you consider flipping your reference photo so the focal point appears in the right third? I do that sometimes so the eye is forced to travel across the painting before finding the "dessert". Whether this works out depends upon how bright the focal point is.

[@philstarke.artist]

flipping the photo is certainly an option, ,sometimes it works well.

[@ronschlorff7089]

@@philstarke.artist true but might be confusing to folks for the Tetons for example!! LOL. I did it often when I was mostly painting wildlife subjects! Ducks flying north or south, ...who cares!! LOL :D