The important role that shape and size play in your paintings.
Sometimes when you are all set up with your new white canvas in front of you and all your paints and brushes laid out ready to go, you feel a little daunted about where to start but also excited.
To start off you generally focus on placement. Where you place things and the size you use is very important. For example, if you are going to put a horizon line into a landscape then it's best not to put it through the center of your picture. It is more pleasing to the eye to either put it one-third or two-thirds of the way down from the top of your canvas.
With composition, (where the size and shape of things go) it works better when you don't repeat the same object. Take trees for example. If you have three trees all on the same level and the same size, they don't look as interesting as putting them on different levels and make them all a different size.
This also gives the effect of perspective or depth. Larger shapes to the foreground and smaller shapes to the background. If you notice a sky, the clouds closest to you are generally bigger than the ones near the horizon. If you combine this with your different tones ie: Darker tones in the foreground and lighter tones in the background then your painting will have real depth in it.
It's also important to consider before you start where the light source is coming from. Then you can make sure your shadows and highlights are in the right place.
So just to summarise, the composition is a very important element in the painting process as the shape and placement of things in your painting will help to please the eye increasing viewing pleasure or make your picture a little dull to look at and not holding your attention.