Introduction- Landscapes always provide the perfect source of inspiration and provoke a painter to capture its splendor on the canvas. Landscapes also happen to be one of the top-selling subjects for paintings and therefore artists are often lured to paint pretty landscapes.
Guidelines for landscape painting-The following guidelines help to master the art of landscape painting for artists.
No need to put everything in- An artist should put selective strong elements while painting a landscape. There is absolutely no need to slavishly imitate the original landscape.
Using Imagination- For the sake of good composition the different elements can be rearranged in a landscape painting. Also various elements from landscapes can be put together in one single painting.
Fore ground should be given preference- The foreground of a landscape should be given more preference than the background. The difference in details helps to capture viewer's attention easily.
Do a series - Painting a landscape once is not enough. It needs to be painted again and again in different lights and shades.
Painting trees in a landscape- An artist should keep certain points in mind while painting believable trees in a landscape.
Keeping a Sketchbook : The sketchbook should be used to keep notes, sketches, and even details of bark and leaves.
Overall Appearance: The overall appearance of a tree needs to be identified. Is it shaped like a sphere, umbrella, cone, or is it simply irregular? Is it short or tall, fat or thin, straight or spread irregularly? All these questions should be properly addressed while painting.
Colors: The leaves, branches and bark of a tree should be carefully studied to get the right notion about color. The color of old, new, dead foliage are different. The difference should be properly indicated while painting a landscape.
Painting water drops in a landscape- While painting a water drop one should be careful about the direction of light and plan the highlights and shadows in a water drop accordingly. Another thing that should be kept in mind is water drops are not transparent things. They take the color of whatever surface they are lying on.
Painting clouds in a landscape- While painting clouds in a landscape one should experiment with unlikely or bold colors. Shadows in a cloud should be highlighted rather than the lighter parts. Last but not the least, each type of cloud should be separately identified and given a distinct individualistic touch.
Perfection in the art of landscape painting can come only through perseverance. But at the same time it is very important to get the basics right and to learn the tricks of the trade. So don't be hesitant to paint your imagination. Release all your creative energy and paint with passion your dream landscape!
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