You’ve chosen the perfect subject and worked on your composition.
Your color palette is selected to enhance the subject matter and play up the focal point.
Everything is a go except for that one little issue: How will you fill your background and what technique will you use to paint it?
Deciding what will fill the background space of your painting can be frustrating. Use too much detail and you wind up with a confusing painting that doesn’t emphasize the subject. Use too little and your subject may look like a postage stamp on a bare envelope.
There are several different ways to handle backgrounds. Each has its own strengths, and you may find that in different circumstances you’ll use each to give your painting the proper emphasis.
Everything But The Kitchen Sink
Including everything in an environment can act as the stage for the artist’s narrative. The subject, surrounded by the minutia of the environment, becomes part of a story.
By including the surroundings, the work comes to life far more than when portrayed in a barren space.
Subtle Detail
Stepping down from the realistic portrayal of everything within the viewer’s scope, subtle detail provides solid grounding without overpowering the focal point.
Striking a balance between basic forms and detail, artists often use this to define the space without infringing on the center of interest. This adds to the reality while allowing the viewer to make their own inferences to specific details.
Patterns And Shapes
Vague patterns and shapes can fill an uncomfortable space without detracting from the composition. Heavy texture paint adds dimensional variations in the surface providing subtle shifts in color through the shadows and highlights cast on the uneven surface.
Vague patterns repeating throughout the background fill voids the viewer may otherwise find uncomfortable. These patterns can camouflage the subject or throw a spotlight on it, depending on the color choices.
Random Brushstrokes
The background space is given weight by arbitrary brushstrokes. By using muted colors and neutrals, the background gains volume and atmosphere.Including complementary shades can push the subject forward and emphasize its importance in the composition.
The size of the brushstrokes and the directions in which they are applied can add interest and life, as well as direct the viewer’s eye from one area to the next.
Your background can be almost as important as your subject and composition. Learning what the best background is for you and your subjects can take time. Try your composition with different backgrounds and see which is most successful. Each may succeed on a different level.
Your background can take your painting from the mundane to a higher degree of professionalism. Don’t ignore your background – it’s more important than you may think.
