Eliminate Chaos In Your Paintings

1: What is this painting about?

Amid all the chaos, there must be something you’re trying to say. Strip it down to the bare essentials. This is where ‘ands’ don’t count. It’s not about the lake, the logs, the mountain, the canoes, and the lady on the beach. No ‘ands.’ Remember KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. Your goal is to break it down to its simplest form. Find the essence of what you want to express in your photo.

A mountain lake with reflections. No need for all the clutter in the foreground. It doesn't help the composition, so we can eliminate all that noise. Add some snow to liven up the photo, and she’s ready to paint.

2: Create an Entry Point

Start by thinking about a way to let the viewer into your painting. An entry. Think of it as a three-act play. The opening act establishes what the play will be about, and you ease into meeting the characters. Just like that, you need to gently let the audience into your scene. A path, some grass lines, or a series of rocks can lead you in. In essence, don’t block the viewer's path on the way in. Be inviting and gently let them into your scene.

Snow pathways ease you to the barn.

Flower petals leading in.

Wind rows in the fields lead you in.

3: Simplify Larger Areas into Shapes

Look to simplify larger areas into shapes. Keep these shapes simple. Aim for three to five major shapes. No more than five. This will help eliminate chaos in your paintings.

A lot going on here.

Simplify into four shapes. Smudge and eliminate the unnecessary.

4: Use Tracing Paper for Clarity

If you can’t see any shapes because of all the chaos, another way to help is to try putting a sheet of tracing paper over the photo. This will dumb down the image and de-clutter some of that nasty business. You can draw on the tracing paper and see your shapes emerge.

Photo without tracing paper.

Photo with tracing paper.

Draw your shapes on top.

Here is a quick video on using tracing paper in the Sketchbook app.

5: Identify Main Items of Interest

Look for the main items of interest in your painting. You can scrub out any unnecessary elements from the scene. You should have no more than three main items. You can have many sub-items of interest, but they must remain subordinate to the primary, secondary, and tertiary centers of interest.

A very busy photo.

The main idea is the umbrellas in the market. The lead-in at the front and background buildings simplified. The person near the umbrellas and yellow bottles on the table create a triangle to keep the viewer's eye moving through the photo. Dark against light and some color under the umbrellas. Simplified. The sky at the back eases the viewer out. Like the umbrellas, here is a mini video demonstrating a photo fix in the Sketchbook app.

Before the crop.

Cropped photo.

After visualization.

6: Paint Your Scene Upside Down

I know this sounds a bit crazy, but I have been teaching the method for a long time and have had excellent results. Your eyes don’t recognize things when the photo is upside down. Buildings don’t look like buildings, and boats don't appear as boats. You just see shapes. Trust your eyes and paint what you see. You will be amazed at how accurate you can be when you flip it over.

Side Note

See my online workshop on Sunday, June 1, 2025, and learn more about painting preparation itself using the Sketchbook app. I'll teach you how to set up the design of your painting before even touching the canvas. https://www.swintonsart.com/service-page/editing-paintings-with-sketchbook

7: (Bonus) An Exit Strategy

Sometimes, all that clutter in a scene makes you feel trapped. To help, ensure you have a background or an exit point. A way to lead you out of the painting. This is like the comic relief at the end of a play—a lighthearted line to ease you out and leave you satisfied. A way to wrap things up. It can be a small sky hole in the trees or a doorway behind a figure. Some directional lines in the clouds can also lead you out of the painting. By simplifying your scene and adding background, you can ease the viewer out. This way, they're not trapped.

There is a small piece of sky at the back.

Mirror in a room.

The light patch beside her eye on the left serves as a way out of this portrait.

The window on the left of this Walter Sikkart painting lets you escape the room.

Thanks for reading! As always, I hope you found something useful in these techniques.

Your friend in art,

Doug.