Learning to See: Composition, Depth, and the Courage to Be a Beginner
- DeElla Hoberg
- Feb 6
- 2 min read
When we first start painting with watercolor, it’s easy to focus all our attention on technique — how to control water, how to mix colors, how to make a “pretty” wash. But in today’s class, we slowed down and stepped back to look at something just as important: how we see before we paint.
In our fourth beginner watercolor class, we focused on composition, which is simply a fancy word for how we arrange the elements in our painting. A strong composition helps guide the viewer’s eye, creates visual interest, and supports the story we want to tell with our artwork.
One of the most helpful tools we explored was the Rule of Thirds. Instead of placing our main subject right in the center of the page, we imagine our paper divided into a simple grid — two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. The points where those lines intersect are powerful “sweet spots” for placing focal points. When we place a tree, horizon line, or area of interest along these lines, our painting instantly feels more dynamic and engaging.
We also talked about depth in a painting, breaking our landscape into three simple layers:
Background – where things are lighter, cooler, and less detailed
Middle ground – where shapes start to become clearer
Foreground – where we see more contrast, detail, and texture
Thinking in terms of back, middle, and foreground helps us create a sense of space and dimension, even in a simple beginner painting.
Perhaps the most important part of this lesson, though, wasn’t about grids or depth at all — it was about mindset.
It’s completely natural to compare ourselves to other artists, especially when we’re just starting out. But comparison can quietly steal our joy and shut down our creativity. In this video, I encourage students to give themselves permission to be beginners. Learning to paint is a process, not a performance.
Every artist you admire was once exactly where you are — experimenting, making mistakes, and learning through practice.
Composition isn’t about perfection. It’s about making thoughtful choices, playing with placement, and growing more confident in how you see the world as an artist.
If you’re following along with this beginner series, I hope this lesson helps you slow down, look more intentionally, and trust your own creative instincts.
Your painter’s eye is already developing — even if you don’t see it yet.
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