Composition

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Welcome to AccessArt: Composition

Ripping Paper by Laura McKendry

Artwork is intentionally arranged by the artist to guide the viewer’s eye through the piece in a deliberate order and to communicate a particular mood or message. This purposeful arrangement is known as composition.

The elements an artist arranges, such as shapes, lines, and colours affect how the artwork is perceived and how the viewer experiences it.

Have fun exploring AccessArt resources focused on composition. 

Dip your toes into composition

Explore this Talking Points to help you find out more about what composition is and what it can be.

Talking Points: What is composition?

"File:Vasily Kandinsky, Improvisation No. 30 (Cannons), 1913, 1931.511, Art Institute of Chicago.jpg" by Wassily Kandinsky is marked with CC0 1.0.

Explore different compositional elements such as:

  • Focus Points

  • Balance / Imbalance

  • Rule of Thirds

  • Golden Ratio

  • Classical Composition

  • Symmetry

Explore Artists

See how artists use different compositional rules to make their art.

Paul Klee

Battle scene from the funny and fantastic opera "The Seafarers" (1923) painting in high resolution by Paul Klee. Original from the Kunstmuseum Basel Museum

Charlie French

Charlie French

Heather Hansen

Heather Hansen

Explore resources focused on composition

Explore these sample resources to help you explore composition.

Adapting AccessArt: Colour and Composition

Colour and Compositions by Yu-Ching Chiu

Colour Composition and Ben Nicholson

Working on composition

STENCILS, COMPOSITION & EXPRESSIVE MARK MAKING WITH OIL PASTELS

Finished work by year three pupil at Ridgefield Primary School

See All AccessArt Resources Exploring Composition

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