I've decided to paint landscapes for the month of February. I hope this activity gets me in an attitude of exploration and discovery and also helps me work out a process for producing even more work throughout the year.
Thus far, instead of feeling tired and worn out from this effort, I ended up enjoying and looking forward to each painting session. Often challenging myself each time to work in a different way.
There are so many beautiful scenes in Barbados. All capturing the eye and almost leading you to a place of rest, comfort and tranquility.
I could never capture exactly what I'm seeing exactly and acceptance of this fact has really enabled me to lower my expectations and continue painting even when it gets difficult.
One of my absolute favourite scenes would be the tree tunnel. I encounter so many of them as I journey to different places around the island and each time I'm struck with wonder as how something so simple could be so beautiful.
An approach to painting landscapes - Four Steps
If you'd like to paint more landscapes, here's the approach that I've been taking:
Do some thumbnail sketches to work out the composition and placement of landscape elements.
Use the sketching stage to work out values, if it doesn't work in black and white, then it won't work in colour
Transfer the sketch to tracing paper this will help simplify it
Transfer simplified sketch to watercolour paper for painting.
As simple and obvious as these stages are, actually doing them really helped me accomplish my goal of getting more work done.
I hope this approach guides you into having a go yourself, if you do I'd love to see it! Please share with me through Instagram and while you're there, check out the rest of paintings I've done thus far. You can also drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.
Until next week!