“Good composition is like a suspension bridge – each line adds strength and takes none away.” Robert Henri
Composition is one of those areas that can make or break your painting before you even pick up a brush. It starts as soon as you look for a subject to paint and extends all the way through until you sign the painting.
But it’s hard to teach and hard to learn. You can’t simply memorize a few composition rules and theories and expect to create interesting paintings. That will only make you predictable. You need to understand the rules, yet know when to break them.
Introducing Composition Breakdown
Composition Breakdown was created to help you design more interesting compositions. You’ll also gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of composition and art in general. Once you understand composition, the world becomes more beautiful. Problems you once had in painting will disappear. You’ll be more inspired, your paintings will look more in harmony, and you’ll find it easier to communicate what you want to say.
Hi, I’m Dan Scott
I’m the artist behind Draw Paint Academy, which I run with my wife Chontele. We have dedicated our lives to helping aspiring artists like you.
In my early years, I approached composition by feel. I'd move things around, hope it looked right, and move on. That only gets you so far. What actually accelerated my understanding was learning the underlying principles; why certain arrangements work, and why others fall flat.
I also want you to enjoy the process more. Composition is one of those areas where knowledge compounds. The more you understand it, the more confident and decisive you become
Here's What Will Happen
- Every 3 days, starting on the day you enroll, I’ll hand-pick a master painting for us to analyze. You’ll get a video of me breaking down the painting in terms of composition, why it works, and key takeaways for your own paintings. I’ll also give you a photo of the painting and additional resources. By the end of the course, we will have analyzed 20 painting compositions.
- You’ll get a chance to analyze the painting first. You can then compare your findings to mine. By the end of the course, we will hopefully be on the same page. You might even start to pick up things I miss.
- The course will also be about art appreciation. I’ll be sharing master paintings that inspire me and will perhaps inspire you.
- It won’t take up much of your time. As with most of the stuff I put out, there’s a focus on distilled knowledge. I don’t want to overwhelm you with information. There’s already enough of it out there.
What You Will Get
An introductory video with details on how to go about the course and an overview of composition theory.
20 video breakdowns (you’ll get the first one on enrollment, then an additional one every 3 days thereafter).
Key takeaways from my video analysis.
Additional resources, such as my composition breakdown checklist, master composition quotes, and links to relevant paintings and articles.
Each lesson has a comment section for you to share your thoughts with other course students.
An accountability email series to keep you on track.
NOTE: Special offer expired. You can join at full price here.
This Is for You If…
- Your paintings look bland and uninspired.
- You are struggling to find interesting subjects to paint.
- You want to better understand and see composition. (It’s easy to spot a great composition. It’s much harder to explain WHY it works.)
- You want to discover and appreciate master artists.
- All skill levels are welcome. Every artist has room to learn more about composition. If you are an absolute beginner, I provide some introductory material at the start to help you out.
Is This Suitable for Beginners?
All skill levels are welcome. For beginners, I provide a brief overview of composition to get you up to speed. If you're more experienced, you'll find plenty to challenge and refine how you think about composition.
Testimonials
Over 1,350 aspiring artists from around the world have taken this course. Here's what some of them had to say:
"Dan, I wanted to let you know this is a really good class that you put together. Took art in college many years ago and it doesn't even compare. Thank you for this." — Stephanie Brown
"I really want to thank you, Dan, for enlightening me about aspects of paintings I had never recognized or put into words before. Your expert eyes guided us to see what you found important in paintings that you selected to demonstrate clearly what you discussed." — John Miner
"It showed me a new aspect, how other artists put things together. There were so many beautiful pieces of work I had never seen before. Artists I didn't know and color approaches I had never thought about. Color theory is an onion with so many layers. I feel I learned a lot, thank you." — Noreen Myers
"The course gave me a different perspective both when viewing a painting as well as painting myself. There are many ways to 'see' a painting – not just a pretty landscape or colors that are pleasing. Hopefully it will help me be a better artist in planning my paintings. I also liked the articles that added detail to your analysis of the painting." — Sue Gibbons
"Learning composition by viewing artwork by artists unknown to me was what I liked most about this course. I will definitely recommend this course to my creative friends and I enjoy your teaching style. Thank you so much." — Tia Hunt
"I liked the beautiful paintings and the guides through the work and the student dashboard was easy and enjoyable to use. Thank you, glad to have an Australian artist to share with me." — Lynne Smith
"The part I liked most about this course was the detailed info on color, values, shapes and lines of movement, the pointers about organic versus linear, and movement versus stasis. The course content was very good; a nice combination of landscape and portraiture demonstrating the topics." — Mary Lu Perham
"I found this course very helpful. It has taught me new ways of looking at composition. I am much more confident with my own work now." — Richelle Cherry
"This course opened a few doors to the world of art for me. It taught me where to look, what to look for, and how to see it. I also got a chance to see the work of artists that I've never heard of." — Elena Naskova
"The amount of information and how it was organized — interesting, informative and I learned a lot. Explanations are clear and concise. I liked being able to zoom in on the paintings to see the brushstrokes. This was impressive. From this point, my 'precision' brushstrokes will be looser and I won't overthink my paint palette. This is thanks to your course. Glad I made the decision to take this course. Everything came together for me and I will enjoy painting more with confidence in my decisions." — Vera Szczepanski
"This course was very impressive! Very detailed! I've never seen anything like it! A lot of the information that I've had questions about over the years is compiled in this class. I strongly recommend it if you want a one-source study that is easy to understand and able to study and digest at your own pace. Thank you for putting all this information together!" — Stephanie B
"The wide variety of artists and the tremendous resources. I went through each one and enjoyed the richness of the materials and how well put together the class was. The course has been just tremendous! I've taken various courses and studied with various other artists throughout the years. This course pulls together everything I've ever learned and more in a completely understandable and exciting way. You have done a profound work. I will refer back to it often." — Maria Monks
"I thoroughly enjoyed taking this course and truly feel that I learned a great deal from your analysis of each painting. I will definitely apply much of the advice shared throughout the course when working on my own landscapes. Thank you for your thoughtful, educational, and thorough explanations — they made a real difference in my learning experience." — Evana Nardi
"Since taking this course, I have started to see in my old work that my proportions were off. I really enjoyed adding some Russian landscape artists to my library. Now I am putting thought into how my paintings will look on the size of canvas. I feel like my landscapes are changing. I am 68 and thrilled that this is my life. You always present a variety of ways to think about and look at my art journey." — Christine Gerst
"Loved it all!! I haven't had this much fun in years!" — Betty Ann Guarino
"Dan comes across as very relaxed. I felt as if he was speaking to me personally. Dan referenced paintings by artists I have never heard of. Brilliant. Next time I visit a gallery I may take ages studying the paintings, trying to read them as taught by Dan." — Mary Curson
"I was impressed by the amount of work you put into the course. In fact you put a lot of work into everything you offer — that's what makes them all a good value. Also impressive are the narratives you provide that explain things in paintings that would go unnoticed but are nonetheless important and invaluable in improving my painting." — James Oliver
"Loved this course! Really enjoyed the variety of paintings we reviewed and the video comments after we had provided our comments. I took a lot of great notes and have started to incorporate some in my current painting. I love learning about new artists as well. Your selection was spot on!" — Julie Mantis
"I am taking other courses on composition and have read many of the published thoughts on composition and feel your approach fills in a hole the other sources do not address. I also appreciate your emphasis that compositional rules and formulas are, at best, guidelines. I will review my other references on composition and keeping these 20 paintings in mind will help reinforce my understanding of effective composition. I also appreciated the articles you attached to each lesson." — Richard Vencus
"The course presents the student with an assortment of artists, some commonly known, others less well known, in order to demonstrate the varied approaches to achieving dynamic compositions. The video segments at the beginning of each module analyze the design concepts behind each featured painting. The links provided throughout the course help to further enhance the source material." — Andrea Niebel
"I liked seeing artists that I was unfamiliar with and enjoyed the variety of paintings we looked at. I liked all the references which widened my knowledge. I really enjoyed looking at the other paintings by each artist added in as reference. I feel that I have learnt about composition and this will help me greatly in my art journey." — Chrissie Pearse
"The variety of examples of compositional concepts and practice. I came to know or reacquaint myself with some very good painters that are not too well known. Some of these concepts are already directly affecting my painting." — Ivan Grosz
"It is particularly pleasant to have a husband and wife team offering us the opportunity to learn to see. It has helped my observation skills, my painting knowledge, and my teaching ability. We are most grateful." — Niki Flanders
"A very informative course — very generous content and information provided. Well worth the cost." — Mary Power
"I loved the explanation of the things you noticed about the paintings but also the list of supporting content and other paintings by the artist. I felt the price was perfect for the content." — Cynthia Alvarez
"It was comprehensive but not overdetailed. Each week I looked forward to learning from the comments on the painting." — Ralph Pinnock
"I liked the variety and systematic overview of each painting through Dan's video and summary of points. The comments from other students were also helpful. The resources included with each painting were extremely useful!" — Beatrice Terrien
Bonuses With Your Enrollment
If you join during this promotion, you'll also receive the following bonuses for free with your enrollment:
Featured Article Ebooks (usually $24USD): Over 90 polished and printable ebooks based on master artists, famous paintings, and how to paint certain subjects.
Reference Photo Library (usually $37USD). Over 2,500 of my best landscape reference photos to help you spend more time actually painting. You are free to use these photos as you please (as long as you don't resell them of course).
Frequently Asked Questions
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
If you are not completely satisfied, just send us an email within 60 days of your purchase for a full refund. Simple!
NOTE: Special offer expired. You can join at full price here.
Hope to see you in the first lesson! If you have any questions or you are not sure how to sign up, you can email us at admin@drawpaintacademy.com.