Overlapping Shapes and Textures
One of the simplest yet most powerful tools for creating depth in a painting is the use of overlapping shapes. Even small, subtle overlaps can transform a flat scene into one that feels rich, dimensional, and full of movement. This isn’t about adding more detail—it’s about making deliberate compositional choices that guide the viewer’s eye and imply space.
Creating Space Through Composition: Robert Lougheed
The late Robert Lougheed, a Canadian painter trained under Harvey Dunn, had an extraordinary grasp of spatial organization. In one of his western scenes, a string of horses moves up a hillside. By overlapping their shapes—none fully isolated except for a key figure—he conveys both movement and mass.
Subtle touches, like grasses overlapping the horses in the foreground, instantly push the animals back in space and establish a foreground plane. Even the horizon line is carefully broken in places to add dimension. Lougheed’s painting is a masterclass in how a few well-placed overlaps can anchor the viewer and create the illusion of depth.
When planning your own compositions, especially during thumbnail sketches, think about where overlaps can occur: foreground vegetation, mid-ground figures, or distant hills breaking the skyline. These small decisions form the backbone of spatial depth.
Suggestion Through Simplification: John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent often placed resting figures in the landscape, overlapping them in gentle arcs. In his watercolors, he might fully render only one figure, allowing the viewer’s mind to complete the others. By breaking the horizon line with an umbrella or another object, he subtly enhanced the sense of depth without crowding the scene.
The brilliance of Sargent’s approach lies in suggestion. If one figure is explained clearly—hand, face, posture—the viewer assumes the same level of detail in the others, even when they are just loosely indicated shapes. His use of overlaps wasn’t only about realism—it was about efficiency, clarity, and spatial storytelling.
Applying the Concept in Your Own Work
In Skip’s own painting of Queen Anne’s Lace, he chose to overlap delicate plant stalks against a dark backdrop of cypress trees. By allowing fine textures to cross over more abstract shapes in the background, he brought certain elements forward without losing the overall harmony. The overlaps were planned to feel organic, yet deliberate, guiding the viewer’s gaze while keeping the scene cohesive:
Final Thoughts
Overlaps are the quiet workhorses of spatial design. Whether they are bold and obvious, as in Lougheed’s herd of horses, or subtle and suggestive, as in Sargent’s hillside figures, they give a painting structure and dimension.
The next time you sketch, plan your overlaps early. Decide what’s in front, what’s behind, and how much space lies between them. Paintings aren’t built only from subject matter—they’re built from the relationships between shapes. Master those, and you master the illusion of space.
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