DEMONSTRATION
Cropping
When the work was finished, I felt that something was wrong. Everything lead the viewer's eye out to the sky on the left, with nothing compositionally to bring it back around. The expanse of blue sky was still too dominant, but I knew that adjusting the color any further was not what I wanted to do. But I also did not want to add a new element to bring the eye around. In this Mediteranean sky I wanted no clouds, and the vertical perspective is such that I could not add a mountain.
Eventually I came across my answer by chance. The painting was sitting against the wall and another work was on the easel. I happened to turn around at a spot where the new canvas obstructed the left portion of this painting. Suddenly I found my eye centering on the figure as I had desired. I began to experiment with covering varying amounts of the painting and asked the opinions of third parties who could give a more objective first-look opinion. Eventually I decided to cut off several inches from the left side of the painting and remount it on a smaller frame. The result is what you see below.
It is important not to be so in love with a work that you are afraid to take drastic measures to make it better.
