Explaining a choice means saying what you did, what it does to the picture, and why you wanted that effect. You do this once for composition and once for media.
This lesson is part of SPM subjects and learning resources. Continue with comparing two stages of development.
How do you explain a composition choice?
Start with where the important shape sits and what surrounds it. Then say where the eye moves and why that route suits your idea.
A strong explanation uses position words: left, centre, foreground, overlapping, diagonal. These make your claim checkable on the page.
Worked example: an invented still life
Imagine a still-life painting of a blue enamel cup, two chillies and a folded cloth on a wooden table. The cup sits slightly left of centre. The chillies lie in the foreground on a diagonal, pointing toward the cup. The cloth is behind, in pale grey.
| Part | Composition explanation |
|---|---|
| Choice | The chillies lie on a diagonal in the foreground, pointing at the cup. |
| Effect | The diagonal leads the eye from the lower right corner to the cup. |
| Reason | The cup is the main subject, and I wanted the viewer to arrive there before seeing anything else. |
The chillies have a job. Without that job, they would be decoration, and the explanation would just say “I added red for colour”.
How do you explain a media choice?
Say what the material does that another would not. Opaque acrylic can cover mistakes and give flat colour. Watercolour stays transparent and is hard to correct.
For the same painting: “I used acrylic for the cup so the blue is flat and strong, and I could repaint the highlight when the first attempt was too large. Pencil under the cloth gives it a soft edge that contrasts with the hard cup.”
The mistake to avoid
The common slip is to name elements without their job: “there is a cup, chillies and a cloth, and the colours are blue, red and grey”. That is an inventory.
Ask of each element: what does it do for the picture? If you cannot answer, the element needs a reason or a rethink.
Check yourself
In the still life above, the cloth is pale grey and low in detail. Explain this choice in three short parts.
Answer
Choice: the cloth is pale grey with little detail. Effect: it sits back and keeps the cup and chillies stronger. Reason: a detailed, bright cloth would compete with the cup, which is the main subject.
You might add that grey also lets the blue look cleaner by contrast. Keep the three parts in order.
What to study next
Use the structured-answer self-review tool to check every choice has an effect and a reason. For a teacher to look at your own artwork with you, see online one-to-one Fine Art 2D tuition.