REPETITION

  Repetition is one of the most important devices in pictorial composition. It is fundamental to establishing a pictorial world or environment that feels whole and complete to the viewer. Repetition can be used with almost any formal element. Lines, shapes, marks, values, colors and textures can all be repeated. It is the relationships between elements, established through repetition, that causes a picture to gain a feeling of having been consciously designed. In the case of color, the beginning artist is often advised to carry the chosen colors throughout the composition. In other words-repeat colors. Many other such examples could be cited. Sometimes, when an artist adds a new element to a composition, it will look out of place at first, as if it doesn't belong. It is very easy under such circumstances to decide that the element should be eliminated. But repeating the element two or three times more in different areas of the composition will lessen its oddness and start to wed it to the composition as a whole. Instead of sticking out, it has become the environment of the picture.

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