The 75-20-5 Hierarchy: How Three Simple Words Can Transform Your Art

I just discovered a powerful technique that will instantly make your work bolder and clearer. Choose three words that define what you want your art to feel like, then make one of those words dominate 75% of your painting, with the other two taking up 20% and 5%. This hierarchy creates work that’s immediately impactful because viewers finally see the main thing you’re chasing. It’s beautifully simple, and it changed how everyone in the room painted.

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When There’s Too Much Going On

You know that feeling when you look at your art and there’s just… a lot happening?

Colors competing with textures. Geometric shapes mixed with organic forms. Bold marks next to quiet passages. A bit of this, a bit of that.

I see this almost across the board when I’m teaching. Artists creating thoughtful, beautiful work that somehow feels unclear. Like a room where everyone’s talking at once and you can’t hear any single voice clearly enough to understand what’s being said.

At the Turning Point Retreat in Portugal, I tried something I’ve never done before at any retreat. And honestly, the transformation was so immediate and powerful that I knew I had to share it with you.

 

 

The Three-Word Exercise

Here’s what I did.

I had everyone come up with three words that define what they want their art to feel like. Not what it currently feels like, but what they’re reaching for. The essence of the art they want to make.

For example, maybe you want your art to feel colorful. You want it to feel spacious. And you want it to be geometric or angled in some way.

Or perhaps your three words are bold, quiet, and layered. Or luminous, textured, and flowing.

Whatever those three words are for you, they become your North Star. They’re what you’re actually trying to express.

 

The Problem Most Artists Face

Here’s what happens once you know your three words.

You walk around looking at your work, and you realize something. All three of those elements are in there, sure. But they’re all mixed together. Everything’s competing for attention at roughly the same volume.

When you try to say everything equally, you end up saying nothing clearly.

The viewer can’t feel what you’re chasing because it’s buried under all the other stuff. And honestly? You can’t feel it either. Which is why the work feels stuck or unclear.

 

The 75-20-5 Solution

So here’s what we did next, and this is where it gets really interesting.

Of those three words, we picked one to be the dominant feeling. The main thing. And we made that element take up 75% of the painting.

Not 50%. Not “a little bit more.” Seventy-five percent.

Then the second word gets 20% of the space or emphasis. And that last word? Just 5%.

 

Why This Hierarchy Changes Everything

When you create this kind of hierarchy, something powerful happens.

Let’s say you chose “colorful” as your 75% element. Now you have to make the painting really, truly about color. You can’t be timid about it. You can’t hedge. You have to amplify that element and make it huge.

Suddenly your work becomes so much more spacious, bigger, bolder.

Why? Because you have permission to go all in on that one thing.

And here’s the beautiful part. When that main element is that strong and clear, the other elements naturally support it. You use the other 20% and 5% to create the differences and contrasts that make that 75% element really sing.

If your painting is 75% about color, you still need some spaciousness (20%) and maybe some geometric elements (5%) to show that color. But now everything has a clear role. Nothing’s competing.

 

How to Apply This in Your Own Work

Here’s how you can try this yourself.

Step 1: Identify Your Three Words

Think about what you want your art to express. Choose three words that capture the feeling or quality you’re reaching for. Be specific. “Peaceful” is fine, but “luminous” or “expansive” or “intimate” might be more useful.

Step 2: Look at Your Current Work

Walk around your studio with those three words in mind. Look at what’s actually on your canvas or paper. Can you clearly see all three elements? Are they fighting for dominance? Are they all at roughly the same volume?

Step 3: Choose Your 75% Element

This can change from piece to piece. In one painting, maybe color dominates. In another, maybe it’s texture or space or movement. Pick which element will be the main voice in this particular work.

Step 4: Amplify That Element

Make it bigger than you think you need to. Take that element and dial it up. If it’s about color, make 75% of the painting really about color. Big, bold, unapologetic color.

Step 5: Let the Other Elements Support

Your 20% element creates important contrast or emphasis. Your 5% element is like a whisper that makes everything else more interesting. But neither one competes with your main statement.

 

What Happened at the Retreat

The transformation in the room was incredible.

People who had been working carefully, tentatively, suddenly found this freedom. Their brushstrokes got bigger. Their color choices got bolder. There was more space, more clarity, more power.

Why?

Because when you know what you’re saying and you make it huge, everything else falls into place. You’re not trying to do everything at once anymore. You’re making a clear statement and supporting it well.

The artists could finally feel what they were chasing. And so could everyone else looking at the work.

 

Beyond Technique: What This Really Means

This isn’t just about percentages or formulas. It’s about understanding what you’re trying to say and having the courage to say it loudly.

So often we hedge in our art. We add a bit of this and a bit of that, hoping something will work. We’re afraid to commit fully to one thing because what if it’s the wrong thing?

But art that moves people is art that commits. It knows what it’s about.

This 75-20-5 hierarchy gives you permission to go all in on what brings your work alive. To amplify the thing you love most about making art and let it dominate.

 

Try This Today

So here’s what I want you to do.

Look at a piece you’re working on right now. If you had to choose three words that define what you want it to feel like, what would they be?

Write them down.

Then ask yourself which one of those words could be 75% of the painting. Which one deserves to dominate?

And then make it happen. Amplify that element. Make it bigger, bolder, clearer than you thought you needed to.

See what happens.

I think you’ll be surprised at how much more powerful your work becomes when you give yourself permission to really commit to what you’re saying.

This is exactly the kind of breakthrough we focus on in the Creative Visionary Program. Next March marks our 10-year anniversary of CVP, and we’re adding content like this. Things around frequency and energy that actually move the needle in your work, not just inform it.

If you’ve been thinking about joining us, now’s the time to get on the waitlist. We only open once a year, and this anniversary program is going to be special.

But whether you join CVP or not, try this 75-20-5 approach in your studio. I can’t wait to hear what you discover.

Leave a comment and let me know what your three words are. And which one you’re making 75% of your next painting.