Now we know that viewers are compelled to follow visual lines in paintings much like readers to street billboards. You also will want to have your viewers “read” the message in your paintings. The shapes are the words; the linear paths are the sentences. The goal is to set up visual paths to usher the viewer throughout your paintings, as well as to go as far into the background as you possibly can in a slow interesting way.
It is a common practice for most accomplished artists to resort to the foreground as being the entrance point, somewhat like the stairs that lead up into a house. The visual path should start there. Melodic and graceful lines will make visual paths very agreeable to the viewer. The most common visual paths in paintings are:
In this design, you can see a lazy “S” format to the linear path. Many professional artists use the “S” linear movement to lead the eye into the painting. You will see many examples of “S” visual paths in this book.