Most painting problems aren't paint problems
They're composition decisions you never made.
Design & Composition is a seven-lesson course that gives you a complete pre-painting decision system — so you know exactly what the painting is about before the brush goes down.
THE PROBLEM
You get halfway through a painting and something feels off. The values are working. The color is fine. But the whole thing just isn't landing.
Most of the time, that's a composition problem. And composition problems are almost impossible to fix once the painting is underway. The decisions that matter most — where things go, how close you get, what stays and what gets cut — needed to happen before you started.
This course is about making those decisions consciously. Every time. Before the brush touches the paper.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
The five composition mistakes that show up constantly — and exactly how to fix them
The alternative rule of thirds — a more flexible interval system than the traditional grid
Scale decisions — close-up, medium, long shot — and how your why determines which one you need
How to find the why in any subject and build a composition that sells exactly that one thing
Shadows and lead-ins as design tools — how to move the viewer's eye with intention
How to simplify a complicated scene down to three big shapes — and how to add life to a dull one
The pre-painting blueprint — a simple decision checklist you'll use before every painting from here on
Who Is This For?
This course is for artists who already know how to paint but keep running into the same problem: paintings that feel technically okay but compositionally flat. Students who copy references too literally, who start without a plan, or who discover halfway through that something fundamental isn't working.
If you've been through Drawing Is Everything, Drawing Fundamentals, or any of the Deconstruction Lab courses — this is the next layer. The system you've been building gets a lot more intentional with a solid composition framework underneath it.
FROM THE LAB
Your video calmly prods you along from the construct to "capture the essence, knucklehead." That is the key for me. I now draw asking "what does it feel like" and make lines with expression not perfection. Eventually, the creative brain lights up and takes over because it likes repetition. The essence of the object is never lost in the process.
LARS WENTZEL · DECONSTRUCTION LAB STUDENT
ENROLLMENT OPEN
Design and Composition
One-time purchase. Lifetime access.
Use the blueprint on every painting you make from here on.