Introduction to Landscape Painting: 6 week check-in

[Jack]

Hello all, I’ve recently finished Fenske’s Introduction to Landscape Painting and thought it’d be a good time to check in and ask for some feedback. Feel free to be as honest and open as you like as I’m keen to improve.

For context, I first attempted to paint a landscape about 6 weeks ago. I had some previous experience of painting simple shapes (spheres, boxes, cylinders) in monochrome – but no experience with colour or a subject as complex as a landscape. I feel I’ve made reasonable progress for the timeframe, but with the end of the course I’m a bit stuck where to go for further instruction or assignments to try to improve. Without the structure, I’m starting to encounter some frustration.

I could use some feedback on (1) the deficiencies of my landscape painting as revealed in the sketch below (2hrs from reference photo I took), and (2) any suggestions for ‘next steps’ in terms of instruction/reference material.

Thanks ahead of time, Jack

 

PS: In terms of self-evaluation. There are parts about the sketch that work and some that don’t. What isn’t working is the colour choices, which is imitative of Fenske  but is unsuitable for where I live – which isn’t bathed in Californian sunshine, but is considerably greyer even when sunny. I also think the forest on the hill is too abstract and lazily put in; and the foreground trees to0 nondescript and generic, just green spheres.  Things I like about the picture is the general composition, which has some interest, and the gradient sky which suggest the low bright light like the end of a long summer day (which it was). Values seem okay too.

[Meghana Kamath]

Hi Jac,

I’m not a well-versed landscape painter but I have done my fair share in the past 🙂 I actually really like the painting so I would like to start off with what I do like:

I really like your brushstrokes – I think they’re quite expressive and add a lot to the painting. I also think that you’ve painted the trees and the grass in the foreground very beautifully, especially the grass as it’s quite hard to capture grass in the first place. I also really like the compositional decisions you have made here – to add to that interest, you could also paint in a subtle winding path around the tree on the right that could be leading you into the distance or off the frame itself (just an idea!)

When it comes to the lighting, I would tell you to evaluate the relationships between light, shadow and your values and then their relationship with the condition of lighting. By your description I’m guessing that where you live is quite overcast and so the relationships between your light, shadows and values will be quite different to when you’re under bright Californian sunshine… For example, overcast diffused lighting may not result in sharp contrasts between your light and shadows like you have painted here on the trees.

P.S. I’m not sure if that hill is supposed to be way back in the background or right behind those trees – either way, I would ask you to consider atmospheric perspective which really creates a sense of depth in landscape painting!

You’ve done a great job with this Jac 🙂

Hope this helped,

Meg

[Jack]

Many thanks for your thoughtful feedback Meghana! One of the most enjoyable parts of painting at the moment is the pace of learning new things – every sketch feels like a big step.

You’re quite right about the diffused characteristic of light here in the UK, even when it’s sunny it lacks the sharp high sun of a California or Italy. I’d like to be able to capture the mood of my locale like Kyffin Williams, with pieces being very provincial in nature. Like they couldn’t be set anywhere else.

The background forest is supposed to be quite near, but in shadow due to the sun being above but behind the hill. But it was a lot lighter in the reference, and I ummed-and-ahhed about whether the photo was lighter/darker than reality. I could have played up the atmospheric effect, and perhaps lightened it. Hard to say, but I’d agree it doesn’t really read as near and in shadow! I might give it another try in a few weeks 🙂

Thanks again

[Carlos Perez]

Hi Jack, your landscape looks pretty good,  nice composition and use of value.

Practicing the fundamentals is always great,  70 % drawing, 30 % painting as they say. If you focus on  Figure drawing, portraits, linear perspective,  drapery, 6  weeks on each as you did on the landscape would be good, doing little projects of ten reps  of each exercise you learn and adding a bit of challenge from each one will certainly take you to the next level.

If you want to get more info you can watch jeff watts lecture on how to train on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX0MrnzBJ8M&t=3443s if you haven’t seen it yet.

[Jack]

Cheers Carlos. Admittedly, I’m not drawing as much as I ought to (who is?!), but your comments inspired me to use charcoal today instead of oil.

The 70/30 idea with 6-week blocks dedicated to specific subjects sounds like a good way for a beginner to build a well-rounded set of skills. But in truth, I’m enjoying landscape too much to move on right now. My current plan is to ride this wave of enthusiasm, sticking to landscape whilst also doing a couple sessions a week dedicated to some other subject. So I have a figure drawing class on Tuesdays and yesterday I did a still life, etc.

It may not be ‘optimal’ in terms of learning and progressing, but I think it’s important to prioritise enjoying the process if you’re just a keen hobbiest who isn’t trying to make anything more out of it. Working hard at whatever is fun feels like a productive formula to me 😬

I remember seeing Watt’s lecture a few months ago and I’ve watched it again this evening. It’s very motivating. I challenge anyone to watch it and not want to get to work! Thanks for reminding me of it.

[Meghana Kamath]

Hi Jac and Carlos,

Do you mind explaining what this 6 week block you are talking about is? I’ve actually been trying to study perspective, composition and portrait drawing but I’m struggling to set an effective schedule if that makes sense – since I started these courses I actually have not painted which I’m guessing is not optimal…

 

Thanks!

[Jack]

Hello Meghana,

I’m a bit obsessed with ideas about what makes for productive learning. These are just my opinions. I expect the formula is different for each individual.

So I’m not sure what Carlos had in mind – but I was actually thinking of how one might practice art a bit like how a runner trains. A runner will have ‘training blocks’, with benchmark events leading up to a ‘big race’. A training block will usually contain all the elements of running, but focus on one thing above others. In art, this might mean a training block focused on improving a specific fundamental (say, values, composition, colour, etc) or perhaps exploring a whole new subject-matter (landscapes, portraits) or medium (watercolour). During the training block you test yourself with a piece of work that stretches your abilities -perhaps it’s a weekly an 8 hour long pose to see if you’re learning rendering correctly, or a pochade landscape to see how you’ve absorbed lessons on colour harmony. Then finishing your training block by submitting yourself to a final piece that, like a race,  showcases the improvement achieved.

I’m just thinking aloud here – this isn’t really the regiment I’m following.

Art is a little more complicated than running because there are so many fundamentals, mediums, subject-matter – it’s hard to know what to prioritise. If you’re an art student, you might have time to put aside >60+ hrs a week and routinely practice most of them. If you have other commitments or restrictions, however, then in my opinion you must prioritise according to your goals. The challenge is always having enough specificity in your practice to progress, without specialising or narrowing your learning to the detriment of your long-term goals. Do a bit of everything, and you may develop too slowly to enjoy the process or produce any decent work. Do only one thing, and you’ll inevitably reach the limits of your training.

For me, my main goal right now is to be able to paint a landscape I wouldn’t be ashamed to hang in my house. Most of my daily practice is centred around this aim – I still do figure drawing, still life, portraits, but they take up less of my time. Everyday I try to do some practice related to landscape, and if I have time, I’ll do a bit of work in another area. Every 2-3 days I complete a small landscape work to gauge improvement; every week, I try something bigger/more complicated/more challenging.

I have no idea if this is effective approach. It’s just what I’m doing.

[Author]

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