Landscape Painting Tips For Watercolor Artists
September 30, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Landscapes
One of the biggest challenges beginners face with any type of art, is the ability to really connect with the creativity that is inside of them. It’s difficult in the beginning to just let go and paint from your heart and soul. Your mind is being filled with techniques and systems for approaching painting, which in my opinion, tends to drown out your inner creativity. Learning techniques is essential, but there should be a point where you begin to draw from your own creative imagination.
When painting a subject, whether it is a person or a landscape, it is important to first observe your subject. You have to get close and personal to what you are painting. If you want to learn how to paint great landscapes, then you should spend time near the area that inspires you to paint in the first place. Only then can you really understand how to transfer what it is you see to canvas.
Take a ride out to the area you wish to paint. Bring along some pencils and paper. The best way to become really intimate with the scene is to just spend time there doing some sketches. This will really force you to observe what you see and burn the image and the environment into your senses.
Painting with watercolor on location is quite challenging, especially if you are a beginner. The scene is constantly changing. There are certain techniques in watercolor that require the paper to be at certain angles, or the paper needs to be saturated to a certain degree, etc. To get everything right within such a short time span is quite difficult, which is why you should bring a camera in the event you are not able to capture the scene. Once you find a composition that you like, take a bunch of shots at different distances and angles. When you get back to your studio, you will now have a few reference sketches as well as a bunch of great photos to work with. In the beginning, while painting on location, try to choose compositions that are not overly detailed or complex.
One of the best ways to immerse your self in watercolor landscape painting is to find people with the same passion. Search online for any groups or websites for landscape painters in your area. Start chatting and get to know everyone. Many of the artists in these groups love to connect with other artists and plan painting trips. This is a really great way to gain experience.
You do not need to bring your entire studio with you when painting on location. Many beginners will bring far too many supplies, which becomes more of a nuisance than help. Only bring the colors and supplies that you really need to work on a particular scene.
Remember, things change very quickly outdoors. Lighting conditions and weather can change in a matter of minutes. You must be able to paint quickly without being too sloppy. Block in all of your large areas first then go back and start adding your details.
Many landscape artists usually block in the sky area first. The sky is generally paler than the rest of the painting, which enables you to work from light to dark. The sky area also influences the way you paint the rest of the objects in your painting.
When painting objects in the foreground that require great detail, do not try and paint every single leaf or blade of grass that you see. This will usually create too much detail that will draw focus away from the center of interest in your painting. It is also far too time consuming if you plan on painting on location. Besides, a painting is not meant to be an exact replica of what you see, rather your unique impression of the scene. If you want exact details, you are better off taking a photograph.
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination. If you are painting a scene and feel that you should add a few trees here, or a bush there, or a bird on a branch, then by all means go for it.
If you find one particular location appealing, and have already painted there once before, don’t hesitate to go back and paint it again, only this time go out on a cloudy day instead. You will be surprised how different a scene can look when the weather changes.
I hope these watercolor painting tips have helped. If you ever find yourself getting discouraged or frustrated by your progress, don’t give up. Instead, welcome and learn from your mistakes. It will make you a much better painter.
You Can Create an Attractive Florida Landscape Look With a Minimum of Effort
September 27, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Landscapes
There are many different plants and landscape looks to the world. You will see these and many others as you pass through “uncivilized” parts of the world. This means that you can see how one part of a roadside changes from one moment to the next just as you are driving down the highway. For people who want to have a structured look to their gardens, they can hire landscape artists to help achieve this. You can create an attractive Florida landscape look with a minimum of effort.
You will find that turning your garden into a Florida landscape look requires that you incorporate the climate and soil conditions into your garden design. By looking at these factors you will know what plants you can use in your garden stylizing. Once you know what you can place in your garden it is easy to look for plants which will grow well in a Florida landscape.
One of the good facts about a Florida landscape is that it bears a tropical look to it. Therefore you should see if you can find plants which you can grow which resemble tropical plants. These many plants that you are planning to use in your Florida landscape don’t need to be very expensive but they should complement your garden.
One other factor which you will need to take into account when you are planning your garden is the size of the garden. If you have a relatively small garden it is best if you choose plants and trees which will provide the illusion of tropical warmth and a large sized garden. To achieve this look you don’t need to hire an expensive landscaping firm to make over your garden.
What you will need is the patience to plant your garden in the best Florida landscape style that you can mange. One of the best ways to go about this may be to have a design made so that you know what plants you want placed in the different parts of your garden. Also you should think about extending the landscaping look as close to your house as possible. This way your entire garden will be a place where you can relax.
Landscaping a garden doesn’t always mean that you need to spend lots of money. In many instances you can make your garden look fantastic just by placing some plants in decorative pots. Other plants can be grouped together to provide a solid coloring. There are still instances where you can give your garden a themed look. A Florida landscape styled garden is just one example of how any garden can be made into a semi tropical paradise.
The Lure Of Landscape Paintings
May 30, 2009 by Portrait Painter
Filed under Landscapes
Landscape paintings are a very popular form of art. By learning more about them, you could help make yourself love and appreciate them even more.
When you are searching for prints or posters to add to your walls, you will very often find several paintings that are completed by a landscape artist. Originals from the master painters are probably not in your price range, but a print or reproduction is probably more in your budget. This makes the landscapes by such artists as Monet, Constable, and Pissarro very accessible to all kinds of people.
Amateur artists most often choose landscapes for their first works. This may be due to the lack of studio space and the ease in which it is possible to find a subject out in the natural world. Most landscape artists before the time of Impressionism, painted inside their home or studio, working by memory or from drawings. Monet and Renoir took their work outside and were considered weird because they did so.
Landscape painting is done in many countries. Landscapes are particular predominant in Japan, Holland, the United States, France, and Britain. European landscape artists were influenced by two Japanese artists during the 19th century. Hokusai and Hiroshige painted images of mountain ranges, forests, and the ocean using bright colors. From the twentieth century forward, other forms of art began to occupy the time and effort of artists and critics. Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, and Cubism became much more popular. This has made landscape painting somewhat unfashionable.
Most of the general public still loves purchasing and looking at landscapes. They feel very connected to the subject and this is even more evident when it reminds them of an area in their past. A portrait or still life will not evoke the same kind of response in most cases. You will find in looking at landscape paintings that some painters paint the same area. Paul Cezanne was a big example of this, due to the fact that he painted the same mountain range around eight times. The Montagne Sainte Victoire, near his home in France, became one of his favorite subjects. He enjoyed painting it in different seasons and different weather conditions.
Two of the first European landscape artists to paint the ocean were Rembrandt and Vermeer, both Dutch painters. Some artists enjoy painting sky and water as their recurring themes. JMW Turner, and English artists, enjoyed painting seas and stormy skies, but his paintings later turned to a more abstract painting of blurring the sea and the skies together. Monet perfected his water technique by sitting in a rowboat on the water. This helped him to get as close as possible to his subject. Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth are well-known American landscape artists who are well known for their ability to capture light on the water.