4
NOTAN AND THE COMPOSITIONAL STUDY
Good composition isn’t an accident, but the result of deliberate decisions about the structure of the painting. We have to consider the picture window that surrounds the subject and then how the parts of the subject we include relate to one another. The best time to consider these options is at the outset, when the painting is in its most formative stage. Just as a map is an invaluable aid to the explorer heading into unfamiliar territory, so too is a compositional study a way for painters to explore their options before they begin.
Shapes are the building blocks of composition, so any type of compositional study must also be shape-oriented. And no type of study is more shape-oriented than notan. In ...
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