Ralph Wilson - Australian

Heading East, 60 x 183 cm


Evening Looking East, 32 x 91 cm


Frenchmans Beach, Stradbroke Island,
90 x 61 cm

Format:

Because of it's pleasing proportions, the Golden Rectangle is a traditional format for paintings, and the ready-made canvases available in art shops are usually standard-looking rectangles. An unusual format, however, can often produce a more interesting composition, and can be worth the extra effort of a custom-made support. The horizontal nature of the sea lends itself to formats stretched horizontally. If the intention is to focus on the water as the subject of a particular work, the vertical dimension of sky may be superfluous. On the other hand, if one wants to convey the total marine environment, this can sometimes be achieved with a vertical format - a vertical slice through the panorama.