Painting a Landscape in Acrylics
So you want to know how to start painting landscapes in acrylics? Landscapes are one of my favorite things to paint, especially of Lake Erie and the islands. The scenery along the lake fills me with joy, and painting it makes me feel like I'm there.
As a high school art teacher for the past sixteen years, I have taught landscape painting in acrylic almost every year. Here’s a couple of my favorite tips and techniques I give to my students. These are all lessons I have personally experienced and learned along the way! I hope they help you to create a landscape that you truly love and are proud of!
Getting Ready to Paint Your Landscape
Before you start, it’s helpful to find a picture you love, have materials ready, and know how to begin.
How to find a picture reference that inspires you
One of my favorite ways to find a reference is to go through my photos and find any landscapes that I love and would love to paint. This could be based on the composition (the arrangement of the image), the colors, the feelings I get when I look at the image, etc. I usually have a photo reference to use as a starting point. I don’t always stick to it but it’s nice to use for values, colors and composition.
Looking at some of my finished landscape paintings of life along the islands.
Supplies, Supports, and More
Now that you have a picture, the next thing is to make sure you have your paints and mixed media sketchbook ready. My acrylic paints are usually Liquitex or Golden brand. I make sure to have at least the primary colors (red, blue and yellow), and I use lots of white for my pastel-like paintings. I don’t use a black paint because I prefer to make my own by mixing reds and greens together.
How to Begin Your Painting
I usually begin by practicing in a mixed media sketchbook because the time spent makes a difference. Then I work on watercolor paper or a gallery wrap canvas for my final landscape painting. You might want to do a sketch or several sketches in your sketchbook before beginning on a larger canvas. My grandma always used to tell me “Small paintings, small problems. Big paintings, big problems.” This is so true! So you might want to work out major issues in your sketchbook before beginning on your final larger surface.
The 10 major tips I tell my students when they are painting a landscape in Acrylics
Here are ten tips to help you avoid common mistakes which makes for a more enjoyable painting experience.
Work from top to bottom.
Start with the sky and work your way down. It just makes things flow better.
Create an underpainting of some sort (grisaille, complimentary or just a solid color of your choice.).
This will give the painting unity and will set the tone. I always paint my underpainting a light peachy pink color with yellows sometimes.
Use the correct size brushes!
Don't use a tiny, itty bitty brush to paint a large sky! Don’t use a large brush to paint small details. Just don’t do that to yourself!
Block in major shapes and values (lights and darks) first.
Work loose then tighten up with detail later.
More detail and darker color is usually in the foreground of the painting.
Less detail and lighter colors in the background to give the illusion of space and depth.
Warm colors come forward and cool colors recede.
I often put lots of warmer greens in my foreground and cooler greens in my background to optically trick the eyes to see depth with the colors.
I usually work darkest to lightest especially when painting trees.
I will often paint the darkest greens (mix green and a red for a gorgeous deep green!) then layer the middle values and then the lightest highlights on top.
MIX YOUR COLORS!!!!!
My biggest pet peeve. Mix your greens, do not use the color straight from the bottle!
Make sure to use water to blend your colors.
I often see students not get a container of water and I am so perplexed by this! Water thins out your acrylics and makes them blend beautifully!
Finally, use your artistic license and change colors, textures, etc.
Make the landscape your own. You do not have to copy it exactly. I think the goal of the artist (and this is just my opinion) is to show their emotional reaction and connection to what they are painting. If this means changing colors and adding visual interest other ways…. GO FOR IT!
Some of my favorite landscapes completed recently inspired by my surroundings in Ohio
How Did It Go Painting Your Landscape in Acrylics"?
I would love to hear about the landscape you’ve painted and how these tips helped to simplify the process. If these tips helped you, you may like these posts about trusting the process and starting a daily painting habit!