Tony Couch - Elements of Design Review

By Jerry Markham

I just finished watching the video, and it has some very interesting information regarding the elements and principles of design and though he is a watercolour painter these techniques are great for everybody. Tony first goes through the elements line, shape, size and so on which are relatively simple but important to know. After understanding the elements he shows you how the principles can be utilized through the elements. The principles such as balance, contrast, gradation and there are a lot more which he goes through in excellent detail. Though I knew quite a bit of the information and was using it instinctively it is good for me to have words and concrete ideas rather than going on feel especially when designing a picture first rather than on the canvas. It's also very useful to see why a particular painting has failed. Using his elements and principles of design I can see a huge benefit to going back and looking at weaker paintings and enhancing them using these techniques.

Tony's use of diagrams and sketches (very cool little barn and house sketches by the way,) along with the breaking down of paintings into shapes and other things is very easy to follow and understand.

This video is not flashy it's just pure information which is what I like in an art video. Keep the flash in the paintings just give me the goods.

I would recommend this video for beginner to intermediate painters and for the more advanced it would be a great tool to use along with the Edgar Payne awesome book "Composition of Outdoor Painting"

Jerry Markham.