foreground

Foreground can also be also called near ground. In a drawing, painting or visual composition it is what appears closest to the viewer. Typically foreground is in the lower third of the composition. Objects or subject matter that start in the foreground often can extend up into and overlap the middle ground or mid-ground (center third) and even the far ground in the top third of the composition. Foreground is what stands out and comes closest and most forward. Characteristics of the world that is nearest to you are highest contrasts and largest forms. In many respects the foreground is where the most intense elements hang out. Be sure to have foreground. In beginning work the middle ground is sometimes the only place that is developed leaving the foreground almost blank and the far ground empty as relatively blank space or unknowable sky.