How to Paint Realistic Landscapes
Landscapes focus on structures that appear in nature, such as mountains, trees, rivers and valleys. Landscapes may include animals or distant human figures, but these details are secondary. For beginning painters, landscapes make instructive subjects that produce rewarding results. Think of landscapes as a first-step to painting other realistic pieces, such as portraits. Experienced painters will also enjoy this low-key, low-pressure subject matter. Unlike in portraiture, accuracy is not as important in landscape painting.
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Things You'll Need
- Canvas or canvas board
- Medium round paintbrush
- Five or six small round paintbrushes
- Acrylic or oil paint
- Water or paint thinner
- Jars
Instructions
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1
Find a photograph on which to base your painting. You won't be able to paint realistically if you don't have a realistic image to help guide your choices. The photograph you choose should be very close to your intended painting.
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2
Set up your painting supplies in a well-lit room. Tape the photograph to the easel, if you are using one, or place it on a table within view of the canvas or canvas board you will be painting on.
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3
Lightly sketch the image onto the canvas or watercolor paper. Don't include details; only draw the most important parts of the most important structures in the image. For example, a tree may be made up of a large rounded mass of leaves (draw the outline of the rounded mass), and a slender winding trunk (draw each side of the trunk). The placement of objects on the painting should approximately match the objects in the photograph.
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4
Paint a base color on each object in the painting. The base color is the color of the object absent shadow or highlights. The first layer of paint will be thin and quickly applied. Use water to thin acrylic paint, and paint thinner (turpentine) to thin oil paint. You should start to see the landscape beginning to form on the canvas. This layer of paint should be applied with a medium size round paintbrush.
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5
Switch to a slightly smaller paintbrush and begin to build up the layers of paint on the canvas. Make adjustments to the image as you paint.
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6
Turn the canvas and photograph upside down. This should make differences between the two images obvious, because it will allow you to see the image you're painting as it really appears, not as you believe it to be. Make adjustments to the painting upside down.
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7
Turn the two images right side up. Switch to a smaller paintbrush to begin adding details such as the texture on the bark of trees, flowers on the ground, highlights and shadows. Clean the paintbrush to switch colors, or use multiple paintbrushes, with one paintbrush designated for each color. Look back and forth frequently between the photograph and the canvas. As you notice differences between the photograph and the canvas, make adjustments.
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8
Repeat Steps 6 and 7 until you're satisfied with the finished results.
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Tips & Warnings
To clean the paintbrushes, dip the bristles of the brush in water or paint thinner. Gently rub the bristles on the bottom of the jar, then rub the bristles on a bar of soap. Rinse and repeat until the suds of the soap appear to be clean.
Because you're painting an outdoor image, highlights should be created by mixing warm tones like orange and yellow with the base color of the object. Don't use white to make highlights. Shadows should be created by mixing the base color of the object with blue, brown or green. Don't use black.
Acrylic paint dries very quickly, but oil paint can take days to become even superficially dry. As a result, an oil painting may become too wet to effectively paint on after a while. When this happens, set the canvas aside to dry for several hours or even a few days.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Morskie Oko image by MarKwa from Fotolia.com
