How to frame/compose a painting or business

One of the most important choices in painting—especially landscapes—is how you frame the composition: what to include, exclude, emphasize, or center. Try to fit in every tree, mountain, lake, and cloud, and you lose focus. But when you crop with intention, highlight a single shape or light effect, and align everything around it, the viewer feels something clear and true and connect.

This is a subtle craft built on one key question: what story, mood, or idea am I trying to convey? A low horizon draws attention to sky and atmosphere—ideal for light and weather. A high horizon emphasizes structure and texture—fields, cliffs, or buildings. You guide the eye with lines, shapes, and light.

You don’t paint everything you see—you paint what matters.

In business - especially in Starts-ups - as in art, what you choose to include, exclude, and emphasize defines your success.

“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.” — Michael Porter

Framing is about focus. It’s deciding what your business will be remembered for—and what it won’t chase.

Like a painter choosing their crop, a business sets the edges of its canvas:

• Which customers to serve

• What problems to solve

• What channels to own

• What core offerings to develop

At the center should be a clear message and value proposition. Everything else should support it. A beautiful painting with no clear subject is forgettable. So is a business trying to be everything to everyone.

The danger is the same: too many features, too many markets, too much noise.

Constraints can lead to bold innovation. Like painting with only two colors to evoke a mood, In both art and business, constraints fuel creativity as Limited time, tools, or resources force clarity.

When the world shifts, don’t start over—reframe.: realign your focus with what truly matters.