Where does the subject look best in an oil painting?
July 12th, 2008
In a painting where does the subject look best in my picture?
This one has had me baffled for years, here is an experiment I did to figure it out. First I placed the subject on the right and then on the left, we read right to left so the left is where the subject looks best.
Here is the first example of the subject being on the right:
The trees are not as interesting once you have already seen the subject.
Here is the painting flipped so the subject is on the left…
If I had painted this one with the subject on the lower left I think it would have turned out to have a more interesting composition. If your subject is going to have a lasting impact it needs to be the last thing you notice in the painting not the first.
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