Following the Diagonals: Creating Movement in Landscape Art (Weekly Challenge #215)
This week, we're travelling to Laternsertal, Austria, where winding mountain roads, sunlit forests and open alpine landscapes offer wonderful opportunities for painting. Our co-host @anna_watercolour_ has shared four photographs taken during her journey through this beautiful region, and I think they are especially interesting because they show how much a landscape can change as we move through it.
Anna describes the first signs of autumn appearing among the alpine meadows, while the lower sunlight creates long shadows and brings out subtle variations in the terrain. The vegetation changes from dense forests to more open, rugged mountain slopes, and distant peaks appear in softer shades of blue. There is a lovely contrast between the strong shapes close to us and the quieter, more atmospheric landscape beyond.
But what caught my attention most in these photographs is the sense of movement.
The roads curve through the landscape, hillsides slope in different directions, a rocky channel leads towards the mountains, and long tree shadows stretch diagonally across the ground.
These are all opportunities to explore our new focus point: Dynamic Composition Through Diagonals.
And here's the question I'd like us to keep in mind:
How can diagonals guide the viewer through a landscape and create a sense of movement, even in a completely still scene?
Focus Point: Dynamic Composition Through Diagonals
A diagonal is one of the simplest ways to introduce direction into a composition. While horizontal lines often suggest stability and calm, and verticals can communicate height and strength, diagonals tend to create a stronger sense of movement. They encourage our eyes to travel across the painting rather than remain in one place.
In landscape art, diagonals appear almost everywhere: roads, rivers, mountain slopes, shorelines, fallen trees, shadows and even the boundaries between light and dark areas.
But there is an important distinction: a diagonal doesn't automatically make a composition dynamic. What matters is where it leads the viewer and how it interacts with the other shapes.
A winding road might invite us deeper into the landscape. A steep mountainside could create tension. Several diagonals moving in different directions might introduce energy, while a strong horizontal or vertical shape can help balance that movement.
This is why I want us to look beyond simply identifying diagonal lines in this week's photographs.
Instead, ask yourself:
Where does the strongest diagonal lead my eye?
What slows down or balances that movement?
Does the diagonal lead towards something interesting or straight out of the painting?
Could I strengthen, simplify or change its direction to create a better composition?
I've explored these ideas in more detail in my post about diagonals and dynamic composition. It's a useful companion to this challenge, especially if you'd like to understand how directional shapes influence visual movement.
Remember that we don't have to reproduce every line exactly as it appears in the photograph. Sometimes a small adjustment to a road, hillside or shadow can completely change the feeling of a painting.
Photo-by-Photo Analysis
These four references give us very different examples of directional movement. Two use winding roads, one relies on the natural structure of an alpine landscape, and another turns ordinary tree shadows into a striking compositional element.
Before choosing your reference, try looking at each photograph as a collection of directions rather than objects. Which lines lead you into the scene? Which ones compete for attention? And where does your eye eventually stop?
Photo 1: A Winding Road Through the Mountains
A mountain road curves around a grassy hillside towards a small building in the distance. Dark evergreen trees rise against the clear blue sky, while the road, slopes and forest edges create several overlapping directions. The scene feels open and inviting, with the road suggesting a journey into the landscape.
Challenge as a Photo:
The road provides an obvious leading line, but its strong curve could easily dominate the entire painting. The challenge is to use that movement intentionally while maintaining a relationship between the road, building, trees and surrounding hills.
Focus Questions:
Where does the road lead your eye, and what happens when you reach the bend?
Could the small building become a destination within the composition?
How do the diagonal hillside and vertical trees balance one another?
Tips:
Simplify the road into one clear directional shape before adding roadside details.
Consider whether the small building should become a focal point or remain a supporting element.
Use the vertical trees to interrupt and balance the movement created by the road.
Experiment with cropping the sky or foreground to change the importance of the diagonal.
Photo 2: Rocky Channel in the Alpine Meadow
A narrow rocky channel runs through a sunlit alpine meadow towards the distant mountains. The foreground is filled with grasses, scattered stones and uneven terrain, while steep mountain slopes rise dramatically against the blue sky. Compared with the first reference, the directional movement here comes almost entirely from natural forms.
Challenge as a Photo:
There are many competing diagonals: the rocky channel, the meadow slopes, the mountain ridges and the boundaries between light and shadow. If they all receive equal emphasis, the composition may become visually confusing.
Focus Questions:
Which diagonal creates the strongest movement through the scene?
Do the mountain slopes support that movement or compete with it?
How could you simplify the rocky foreground without losing its direction?
Tips:
Choose one dominant diagonal, perhaps the rocky channel, and let the other directions support it.
Group smaller rocks into larger shapes instead of describing every stone.
Use changes in width and scale along the channel to strengthen the feeling of depth.
Consider softening or simplifying distant mountain details so the foreground movement remains clear.
Photo 3: Long Shadows Across the Forest Road
Tall evergreen trees stand behind a quiet mountain road, with sunlight filtering through the forest. Their long shadows stretch diagonally across the road surface, creating a striking pattern against the lighter ground. This is a wonderful example of movement created not by the landscape's physical forms, but by light and shadow.
Challenge as a Photo:
The trees are predominantly vertical, while their shadows introduce strong diagonals. The challenge is to make these contrasting directions work together without allowing the repeated tree trunks and shadows to become too uniform.
Focus Questions:
What creates more visual interest here: the vertical trees or their diagonal shadows?
How does the rhythm of repeated shadows influence the movement of your eye?
Could you change the length, spacing or strength of the shadows to improve the composition?
Tips:
Begin with the large light and shadow pattern rather than individual branches.
Vary the spacing and strength of the shadows to avoid a mechanical rhythm.
Use the vertical trunks as a counterbalance to the diagonal movement across the road.
Simplify the forest into larger value masses so the sunlit road and shadows remain important.
Photo 4: Following the Road Through the Forest
A narrow road winds between tall trees, with sunlight illuminating parts of the forest floor and distant landscape. The road edges lead towards a bend, while the trees create strong vertical shapes on either side. There is a wonderful contrast between the directional pull of the road and the quieter rhythm of the surrounding forest.
Challenge as a Photo:
The converging road edges create a strong sense of depth, but they can also pull the viewer's attention very quickly towards the distance. The challenge is to control that movement and decide where the viewer should pause.
Focus Questions:
Does the road guide your eye into the landscape or carry it through too quickly?
How do the vertical trees influence the feeling of movement?
Could patches of sunlight create places for the viewer's eye to pause?
Tips:
Establish the main direction of the road before adding smaller forest details.
Use overlapping trees and changes in scale to reinforce depth.
Consider emphasising a patch of sunlight near the bend to create a visual destination.
Simplify the roadside vegetation so it supports rather than competes with the road's movement.
Looking across these four photographs, I think the most important lesson is that movement needs direction, but it also needs control. And remember that a diagonal doesn't always have to be a clearly visible line. It can be formed by a sequence of rocks, the boundary between sunlight and shadow, a sloping treeline or a series of overlapping shapes. The viewer's eye can follow a direction even when nothing physically connects all its parts.
This time, choose the Laternsertal reference that inspires you most and explore how diagonals can create movement, depth and direction in your landscape.
Don't feel obliged to copy the photograph exactly. You can adjust the curve of a road, simplify a rocky channel, change the spacing of trees or exaggerate the direction of a shadow if it helps your composition. Think about where you want the viewer to enter the painting, how their eye should travel and where it should eventually rest. Most importantly, enjoy experimenting with the possibilities rather than searching for one perfect solution.
Challenge 215 is open until 26 October 2026 at 12:00 CET. Share your interpretation on Instagram using #LandscapeArtClub215 and invite @landscapeartclub as a collaborator or tag us for a chance to be featured.
A big thank you to @anna_watercolour_ for sharing these beautiful photographs and her observations about the changing alpine landscape!
Happy Painting!
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