Sometimes, it’s angles, sizes, spaces and interesting shapes that make many of our paintings “work” to entertain our audience. Lynn Burton’s untitled painting to the left is a good example of what I mean. Not only did he use all of the above attributes to help the picture along, but to make the painting more interesting, he chose an angel or viewpoint from above (about 30 degrees) that made it that much more interesting. This is a good example of choosing unusual angles and breaking up shapes, not only with the solid building components but the exciting shapes of the shadows, as well.

Sometimes, the utilization of angles and shapes in your painting can be very simplistic, and in its simplistic design is the genius itself. A good example of this is the painting to the right. It is a simple play of rectangular shapes contrasting against the angle of the stairs and handrail. In one sense, the shapes and not the flowers on the stairs make the painting.  In its simplicity, the colors work well together but do not captivate the painting. The painting looks like it was easy to do, but as good paintings go, a lot more planning work goes into it than the viewer will ever know.

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