What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to art-making? Perhaps it’s understanding composition – what it is, why it’s important, and how to use it to improve your painting. Certainly, composition is one of the topics I get asked about most frequently. So when I was given the book entitled, Landscape Painting and Composition: An Artist’s Handbook by José Payá Zaforteza, I was pretty excited! Could this be the solution to compositional woes? Let’s dig in and see!

First, a bit of context: the author is a Spanish landscape painter with a Fine Arts degree who teaches at Gaia Art and Restoration School in Valencia, Spain of which he is a founding member and director. 

At 165 pages long, his book is thick with info and colour illustrations. It’s been translated into English from Spanish and is very readable with, every now and again, an odd translation or expression that’s quite endearing. 

Okay, let’s get into the content of the book.

10 sections cover various aspects of composition. Some expected topics are Focal Point, Visual Pathways, and Compositional Schemas. However, Zaforteza also goes to the peripheries of what we might consider “composition” with topics like Colour, Chiaroscuro, and Composition, and Perspective and Depth, and yet, when you think about it, just about everything you do within the confines of the picture plane will affect composition which is the arrangement and organization of elements within the painting and the relationships between them.

The book is filled with diagrams and the author’s paintings that illustrate the lessons so well. Happily, three other painters (Jim McVicker, Colley Whisson, and Randall Spasic) permitted their work to be used to expand the visual clarification of the author’s points. These really add to the richness of the book!

This book is for anyone from beginner, to intermediate, to more experienced painters. 

For instance, a beginner will find a straightforward explanation of the Rule of Thirds (p61) a tried and true guideline that, once understood and internalized, can be pushed and pulled as necessary to develop a strong painting.

Someone further along in their art-making journey may want to explore Compositional Schemas (p131) – pre-designed arrangements that help “distribute and situate the elements of the paintings.” Examples of these are the T schema (“the simplest and most often used arrangements in landscape painting”) and the S Schema (“common as it occurs so often in the landscape naturally”). Once you understand how these schemas work, you can begin to use them intuitively as you plan your painting.

You’ll also find ideas for the more experienced artist. Not only is it a great opportunity to revisit basic compositional strategies, but you’ll also find nuggets of learning. For instance, you may like to dig into using contrast lines to develop visual pathways (p117). You’ll discover what they are and what purpose they serve. For example, not only do they help lead the eye, but they can also be “visually dynamizing” and give value to specific areas of the painting.

Do we need another book on composition in the art book market? I think yes. Many books go deeply into an aspect of composition while this one expands beyond the boundaries of our expectations around the topic. In some places I find the author stretches the definition of composition perhaps a bit far. For instance, does colour toning really affect the composition? Perhaps. Nevertheless, it’s all useful information to ponder.

Another thing I really appreciate about this book is the numerous diagrammatic illustrations that underline so clearly the points Zaforteza is making. These, for me, make the book particularly valuable.

Beginners may be a bit overwhelmed by all the info but it will be an excellent resource to reach for as you develop your art-making skills and wish to further improve the impact of your paintings through design. 

One of the downfalls of the book is the omission of sizes for the paintings shown. I’m a huge proponent of knowing what the size of a piece is as that knowledge will affect our understanding and appreciation of a piece. Interestingly, Zaforteza includes a section on how scale affects how you work on a painting, for instance, a larger piece requires a larger brush and more space in which to step away as you work. So in this case, size matters!

I have a few small complaints such as:

• No definition for the term “chiaroscuro” as some beginners may not know what it means
• It would have been useful to have included an explanation of Fibonacci in the section on Proportion (that includes rule of thirds, rule of fifths, and the golden ratio) as I do get asked about it from time to time
• Sometimes the organization within sections can be slightly confusing. Also, the heading font size is occasionally not consistent.
• Um…the cover…it’s not appealing to me…partly because of the neutral colours and the overall design. But that’s just my personal opinion!
• I disagree with two of the author’s points for improving your painting, namely, “Paint from distant to close” and “Paint from top to bottom.” Just saying…!

But like I said, these are trifling criticisms compared to the immense value of this book.

Some aspects I do like beyond the information and visuals are:

• The Section headings are at the top right of the page so you always know where you are. It’s sometimes the little things that can make a big difference!
• Most terms used by the author are defined. 
• The occasional inclusion of QR codes that link to publicly available videos by other artists (sadly yours truly doesn’t seem to have made the cut lol!). These broaden our knowledge about whatever Zaforteza is teaching us.

As I conclude this book review, I also want to mention Zaforteza’s Conclusion as in it, the author aligns closely with my own beliefs about art-making. He writes, ”As you can see, the art of ‘composing’ is actually the sum of numerous skills, each needing to be worked on and gradually interiorized.” 

He urges constant practice to become familiar with all that he has shared. He says too, “…be aware that this body of knowledge, this collection of expertise, is not written in stone….At the end of the day, part of the beauty of the artistic endeavor is the emergence of something new, unexpected and improbable.”

He reminds us, “…artistic work is based on establishing a constant and flexible dialogue between our original idea and whatever it is that the work itself demands as it unfolds.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!

I believe Zaforteza has succeeded in his aim (as set out in his Introduction) “to present the principal skills and techniques of artistic landscape composition in an accessible and enjoyable way.” 

No matter what medium you work in (pastel, watercolour, oil, acrylic), no matter what stage you’re at on your art journey, I highly recommend this book as a practical, easy-to-use, comprehensive resource for anyone wishing to understand and dig deep into composition and learn how it can improve your paintings, landscape or otherwise.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please add them in the comments!

Until next time,

~ Gail

PS. Here’s the link to the book on Amazon

PPS. This book is the first in a series of forthcoming books under the umbrella title: The Secrets of Landscape Painting. If this book is anything to go by, I happily anticipate the others. How to Paint Skies is scheduled for May 2022!