Landscape
Landscape painting is about light and space. Nature is endlessly detailed, so the painter's job is to simplify and select.
Step by step
- Do a small thumbnail first and decide on the main shape and focal point. The rule of thirds is a helpful starting guide, not a law.
- Simplify into 3–4 value masses. A common pattern on a sunny day: sky lightest, ground next, slanted planes darker, upright trees darkest.
- Use atmospheric perspective: as things recede, they get lighter, cooler, less saturated and less detailed.
- Paint the sky first in most cases — it sets the light for everything else.
- Suggest detail with a few accurate marks instead of painting every leaf.
- If you paint outdoors (plein air), work small and quickly — the light changes within an hour or two.
Common mistakes
- Painting distant hills as dark and saturated as the foreground.
- Putting the horizon exactly in the middle without a reason.
- Painting individual leaves everywhere.
Practice exercise
Make four 10-minute value thumbnails of the same view at different times of day.