Landscape painting the fearless way!

My inspiration

When it is spring in Washington State the flowers bloom. There is nothing more inspiring than taking a walk around my yard to see what plants will provide me with beautiful inspiration for my next art project. Join me, won't you and let's paint a beautiful landscape the fearless way!

For this project, I will show you how to paint a landscape with a lilac tree that grows in my yard. I will show you how I look at my photo inspiration and the decisions that I make to create a successful painting. In the following photos you will see how I layer my watercolor paint and work with both wet paper and dry paper to create a range of values and gorgeous colors.

black and white value photo

I like to begin my painting projects with a photo. As wonderful as it is to paint en plein air, somedays, when the weather is not cooperating and it is cold or rainy, having a good photo means that I can be inspired and work in the comfort of my own studio. 
I have found that printing a black and white version of my original picture allows me to step aside from just studying the beautiful hues of nature, but also to correctly "see" the values that will allow me to create a painting that has depth.

For this painting, I chose to use the following Daniel Smith Watercolors : Quinacridrone red, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Pthalo Blue ( green), and both Hansa and New Gamboge Yellows. I drafted my idea onto my 140lb cold press Fabriano watercolor paper.  I have also made a mental note of where I will create my lights vs range of darks.  I think it is important to remember that the more choices that we make prior to painting the easier the painting experience will be.

Early washes

In this photo you can see how I have begun the process of working on a wet surface in order to allow my early washes of color to flow across the paper surface. In working wet onto wet , I am able to create flowing soft edges of color throughout the painting and as the paper dries, my strokes of paint begin to create hard edges, which further define my subject matter. ​

layers of paint

I continuously layer diluted paint to build up the values that I see in my original photo. With each stroke my colors become more dynamic, richer and I can start seeing depth in my painting. The question on my mind is always the same : Have I painted enough layers
(think values) that I am starting to create an image that has a three dimensional element?

Taking intermediate photos during my painting process makes for an easy method for analyzing and seeing where I need to paint areas darker vs. where I need to be mindful of my light hues, so that I do not loose the freshness that is painting with the watercolor medium. 

Comparing painting to photo imagery

In this picture, I am comparing my painting process to both my original photo and a black and white version. This helps me to "see" what needs to be done. As an artist, I have learned that when painting I spend 80% of my time studying my painting and photo and perhaps 20% actually working with my brush and paint.
Throughout the process of creating, I continuously "critique" my work in progress, asking myself questions such as :
a) Is there a dominance of color or of mood?
b) Are there interesting color combinations within the work?
c) Do I have a full range of values that lend themselves to my composition?

If the answers are yes, than I am ready to move onto the next painting step.

Value photo of painting

Can you see in this black and white photo how my range of values is starting to create a naturalistic  look to my composition. I have interesting strokes of  warmish colors in the foreground. As I move towards the back of the yard, I choose to paint with cooler and darker hues to create a bit of visual drama. 

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Am I done painting?

The questions that I need to ask myself at this point is " Am I done, yet?" ​Alas, the answer is no!  I feel that I have gone too dark in my background! I also feel that I have begun to loose my fresh light purplish pinks in my lilac blossoms. Oh, dear what am I to do?

close up of the background trees

It was an easy fix to lighten the background that bothered me. I couldn't help but feel that where the dark trees stand behind the lilac I had layered too many stokes of rich saturated Pthalo blue and this area had to be modified.
By taking a scrunched up damp paper towel  I was able to lightly press and blot the too dark area where the background trees grow. Mind you, I do not rub my WC paper, I merely pounce the towel lightly over the painting surface where I want to lift color. In this fashion, I let the paper towel absorb and remove a little bit of the darkness off of my painting without damaging my wc paper. ​

Gesso juice on a separate palette

Are you wondering how I will "save" my light values and bring them back out? I have a magical recipe given to me by an artist friend that has helped me in many of my paintings. 
Kathleen Conover is a marvelous, nationally acclaimed artist and she came up with a sure fire way of dealing with lost lights in a wc painting.  She calls her recipe "gesso juice". It  is  made by mixing 1/3 water with 1/3 gesso + 1/3 acrylic matte medium.
​I mix my "gesso juice" in an old bottle shake well to properly emulsify and use on my painting! This recipe creates a somewhat transparent but also some what opaque pigment that allows me to repaint areas and bring back out the lights again. I can also mix small amounts of my diluted watercolor paint on a separate palette, to make slightly opaque and vivid mixtures of colors. With a clean brush, I use this mixture in what ever regions that I feel need a little help. In this case I repainted my lilac blossoms with strokes of gesso juice mixed with my quinacridrone red to make a tint of pink.

close up of lilac flowers

After painting some small strokes of "lights" correcting my dark values in back and adding a few what I call "dark jewels" in special spots like under the lilac tree and the rocks, I am ready to sign off on this painting. I hope that you had an enjoyable time painting in my back yard. 
Now it is time , for you to take a walk and find a beautiful landscape that will inspire you to paint! As I tell my students "Carpe Paintum" that's right "seize your paint" and lets go and have some fearless fun! 

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"Lilacs in my yard" © 2024 Elise Beattie

Thank you for visiting this blog post. If you would like to learn more about my artwork I invite you to visit my web site  www.beattieartworks.com and check out my original mixed water media paintings and art shop.

Are you interested in learning more about painting fearlessly with watercolors or acrylics? Please visit my art classes page, where you can register for my Fearless Painting classes? Here is a link to my in-person and online art programs for painting with watercolors or acrylics sponsored by Spokane Community College. I also teach private online programs for those interested in a more personal approach to learning how to paint. 
https://www.beattieartworks.com/art-classes.
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