Artist's Back to Basics

The Nullarbor Plain – or is it? Part one – A New Horizon

Travelling and art are generally good companions and one thing you notice looking out the train window on this journey is the horizon line, mainly because there is little else to be seen, yet from an artists point of view the horizon line whether it is out at sea or in a landscape painting it is one of the most important aspects of a composition, the vast Nullarbor Plain stretches between Western Australia and South Australia. Virtually uninhabited the Nullarbor today is crossed in comfort in a few days by train or car but was once regarded by many as an unknown wilderness, many art teachers quote the rule of a third with the horizon either one third down from the top or one third up from the bottom as the way to go, but like all things in art, rules are meant to be broken, and with that in mind I thought this article would be a good time to explore this rule together. Also later in the article I’ve included a few of my sketches and notes from my trip into northern

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