Posts Tagged ‘landscape painting’
Beginning a Landscape Painting
When beginning a landscape painting, isn’t it interesting that we do that in a variety of ways? Some of us begin at the top and paint downward. Some begin at the foreground and work up. Some begin at the focal point or the center of the painting and work outward. Some develop the picture all over at once and continually refine.
The other problem is knowing when to quit. How many times have I asked my instructor, “How do I know when I’m finished?” A good instructor will say, “A good artist knows when to stop,” thus enabling the artist, giving the artist confidence. Just stop. Relax, enjoy the act of creation, and worry less about the finished product. A good artist knows when to stop.
Abstract Landscape Paintings (2)
Michael Albala, in his book Landscape Painting, continues. Abstraction is an approach in which the phrase “You must walk before you can run” definitely applies. Good abstract painting requires a thorough command of aesthetic principles, and the best way to learn those principles is through an interpretation of reality. Learning how to draw, compose, build space and manipulate color teaches you the grammar of the visual language.
A good abstract painting will have effective color, well-conceived design, well-orchestrated values, and perhaps even form and space. It has everything the greatest works of “classic” representational art have, but it is less hinged to narrative form. That abstract painting can communicate as strongly as representational painting is a testament to the fact that good painting is not dependent on subject matter but on the skillful implementation of artistic principles.
Fluidity in Landscape Painting
Robert Genn, Canadian landscape painter, wrote a newsletter recently about fluidity in painting. Fluidity is the presence of long, languorous strokes, elegance, panache, dash and curves. Like a long fluid line in a symphony, they give a feeling of completeness, mastery and intrigue.
He then gave some suggestions for achieving this: 1) The stiffness of oil paint can be extended by adding more medium – stand oil, walnut oil or other dedicated extenders. Products are widely available often based on Alkyd resins. Highly recommended is the range of Gamblin media that feature various types under the name of Galkyd. Online you might find them at the Gamblin Interactive Painting Mediums Guide. 2) A confident arm’s length stroke will produce more fluidity than a tightened-up finger and wrist action. The combination of a fully loaded brush, full body action and the brush held well above the ferrule does the trick.
For practice, frequent drawing goes a long way to extending your painterly stroke. The “stroke length” of dry media such as pencils, chalks and pastels is much longer than the typical brush. Dry work promotes fluid habits.
Choosing Your Subject
Edward Betts, one of America’s most creative painters, in his book Creative Landscape Painting says that developing a creative imagination or a creative viewpoint means beginning to comprehend nature and create paintings that go beyond the ordinary, toward an art that is more personal and inventive.
One of the first decisions an artist makes is deciding on the subject of the picture. Actually, it is not so much a matter of choosing a subject, but rather to responding to some visual situation. The artist sees something that triggers an interaction with the artist’s inner world of the subconscious. As Sir Thomas Browne stated, “We carry within us the wonders we seek without us.”
The fact that something outside himself has affected the artist intimately means he now has something to communicate. If you are genuinely excited about your subject, then you have a very good chance of sharing that excitement, by means of your art, with someone else. So search out the landscape forms that touch you deeply and make them the core of your art.
Fat Over Lean
In oil painting, there is a well-known adage to remember – “fat over lean” – meaning more oily layers are applied over less oily layers (think: oils over acrylics). Paint that is less oily is less flexible and more brittle and faster drying. By placing the more oily, or fatter, layers on top of the less oily, or leaner, layers, the lower layers can continue to breathe and dry.
Oils straight from the tube are considered lean, while all painting mediums are considered fat. At the start of a painting, some solvent may be used, but in successive layers, the solvent is replaced with medium. Thus top layers are always fatter than lower layers.
Andre Derain
Andre Derain (1880-1954) and Matisse founded Fauvism in 1905 while painting together in south west France. His landscape painting, Mountains at Collioure, is one of his best works from that trip. His brushstrokes look like streaks of energy spraying through the canvas, charging it with electricity. Like van Gogh’s countrysides, the undulating fields and mountains seem to breathe.
The painting looks something like what a creative 10-year-old might bring home from school, but the painting has freshness. Like Matisse, he arranged his colors to create harmonies and discords. The mountains had oranges and blues, the trees had oranges with greens, but he also had friendly analogous colors – greens and yellows – to give the viewer’s eyes a break from the stress of the harsh hues.
Art not for the Faint of Heart
Robert Genn, the Canadian painter, wrote in his newsletter recently about having gone with a group of artists to the Bugaboo Mountains in British Columbia. They were helicoptered up 11,000 feet to the top of a mountain and left to paint for the day in the ice and snow. By the end of the workshop they were the Bonded Bugaboo 10.
It reminded me of painting in Montana a few years ago. Eash day we rode our horses almost to the top of a mountain and walked the rest of the way. Lunch was brought to us, but we had all day to do a landscape painting in an environment meant to inspire. If you paint the way you usually do, your way of painting will get new dimensions.
We artists went there not knowing each other, but at the end of the week we, too, were bonded by a wonderful shared experience. It is said that the mind once expanded never regains its original shape. I believe it!
Chesapeake College
Chesapeake College is a small college about 1 ½ hours north of me, and it is having an art show. I entered my oil painting, “Turtle Island,” a few weeks ago and today I took it to the college to be hung for the opening on Thursday afternoon.
Along the way, I picked up my Easton friend and her painting. Because many paintings were brought in yesterday, we were able to preview the show and enjoy works in oil, acrylics, watercolor, pastels, photography, graphics, computer generated art and mixed media. The computer generated work was new to me and very unusual, but I liked it!
Today was another of those beautiful days that occur in the fall and was a great day for doing whatever one wanted to do. I especially enjoyed my visit with my friend as I don’t see her very often.
Working on the Web Site
I’m working on my web site. That means I have been adding products – paintings. When I do this, I first must have a new landscape painting - not a small venture in itself. Then it must be photographed, with frame, downloaded into my computer, cropped and added to the folder of like photos (e.g., 2010 – Paintings.)
Later, I go into the “back end” of my site, where I do all the work before the public sees it. I write a description and possible use for that particular painting, put in its weight and price, and upload the photo.
Finally, I must inform Google, Yahoo and Bing that a new product has been added to my site. After a while, all this becomes routine, but it is more work than I ever expected to do!
Fort Loramie
On Sunday, my sister and her husand went to visit his mother in Minster, OH, very close to Fort Loramie, originally built as a protection from the Indians 150+ years ago. The plan was to take her to lunch and later go back to her home and spend some time visiting with her and attending to any of her needs.
It worked out that after lunch, I was able to go to the beautiul lake at Fort Loramie to do an abstract oil painting. Nowadays, it is an especially nice place to paint because along much of the lake is a park with trees and grassy areas, just right for a picnic and leisurely afternoon.