Page 57 - sarah-simblet_sketch-book-for-the-artist

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THE VIEWFINDER CROPPING AND COMPOSITION

T h e s e pencil drawings o f figs demonstrate
different crops and compositions. A card with
a small rectangle cut out o f it makes a useful
viewfinder Close one eye to look through
the hole, then move the card to explore
different views. U s e it as a starting point,
a device to help you decide what to draw.

Off-center and diagonal

Here I held my viewfinder so the fig appeared
upper-left in the space, its stem and shadow
framing a white center. The angle of the fruit
together with dark shadow (top left) and bright

light(bottom right) suggest a diagonal division
across the whole drawing, running corner t o
corner, bottom-left to top-right.

Touching the edge

When the subject o f a drawing touches one
edge of the paper it attaches t o it visually.
Here the left fig is attached to, and therefore

apparently suspended from, the uppermost
edge of the drawing. When subjects touch
two or more edges, as also shown here, they

establish a tension and unity with the paper.

Space as the subject

Inallpictures, spaces between things are as
important as the things themselves.This drawing

hasbeencropped to emphasize space between
thefruit.O u r focus is on the white cloth

supporting the figs, its illumination, and lines
describing shadows cast by the fruit