Figure in Landscape

A painting friend asks "Do landscape paintings need figures?" Well, ask any artist and get a different answer. As with color and just about anything in art, there are few rules. Artists who 'think outside the rules' seem to be the ones we get excited about.



In this painting(dim due to not good lighting here - sorry, it's a gloomy day) I originally had no figure other than that of Pan atop the fountain. But the backlit light hole right of the fountain (see picture two posts ago) seemed ripe for something. Of the many figures walking by I thought a mom with baby in stroller would be nice here. When I stood back, the 'mom' looked more like a child in stature. So, I quickly moved head and hat and voila now I seem to have a 'dad' pushing a baby.



All this, Sarann, just to say that I think the main purpose that figure serves in landscape is to enhance the landscape rather than draw much attention to the figure. As in your painting of the pavillion, you used figure to help define foreground, middleground, etc. and in mine I used figure to balance the composition.