WHAT IS COMPOSITION?

I have always found Matisse’s Blue Nude best address this question. In this lesson one of my recent compositions is juxtaposed against Blue Nude so I do not have to give a boring talk on composition here. The best art student is the one who can get enlightenment through his/her own observation. There is no teaching or learning for the natural artist–only enlightenment–because as soon as a precept comes out of my mouth, it no longer applies. No teacher in the world can deal with that. No student in the world can learn anything like that! Hence the idea of an art school is an absurdity to begin with. 

As you see, a composition is simply the interplay of black and white as shown here–or ultimately speaking, the intercourse between Yin and Yang–the ultimate stuff that go into the making of our reality. The tricky thing about composition,though, is: even if you follow everything to the letter, you still may not get it right or successfully make a composition of your own!

The sublime,I believe, resides in the supreme mathematical relationship within the intuition of an artistic genius.I have seen many a student trying to compose a  painting in vain under the instruction of none other than the great Knox Martin. (www.knoxmartin.com)

I am not trying to discourage people here in this game. On the contrary, I sincerely hope that young people who think they have artistic talent (whatever that means to you!) should come forward and take up the torch handed down to us by great masters like Cezanne and Matisse.

Artistic genius in a young person is a blessing inasmuch as it is an obligation. It is powerful enough to be a calling from which no one who is truly gifted can escape. 

If you are that person, composition is just a piece of cake to you. There is really nothing more to learn beyond these two pages!