How to Paint Mountains in Five Easy Steps

How to Paint Mountains in Five Easy Steps

I love painting small art works, they are great especially if you are a beginner. You can paint them more quickly, they are good for practicing your painting techniques, they make great little paintings, they are easier to sell and you can use them for colour studies for bigger paintings.

In this tutorial I am going to show you how I painted this small studio painting of Mt Talbot and Mt Crosscut in New Zealand in five easy stages which includes:

How to Paint Mountains in the Great Outdoors – Painting ‘En Plein Air’.

How to Paint Mountains in the Great Outdoors – Painting ‘En Plein Air’.

Have you ever tried painting outdoors on location? Let me tell you it’s really good fun, it’s challenging but it gets you outside and it really improves your painting skills especially if you’re a studio painter. 

Recently I took my paints and easel on a little road trip to Fiordland National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. Fiordland is a very mountainous region of New Zealand and is perfect for painting outdoors on location which is also known as painting ‘en plein air’.

How to Paint a Seascape

How to Paint a Seascape

Painting seascapes is one of the subjects I love to paint most. Every so often I visit the island of Guernsey which is the place I was born. Guernsey has amazing coastline, dramatic cliffs and the wild Atlantic Sea, the island is located in the English Channel and is very inspiring for coastal scenes.

In this step by step painting demonstration I will show you how to paint this seascape of a little place called Port Soif, located in the west of Guernsey.

How to Paint A Serene Mountain Valley

How to Paint A Serene Mountain Valley

I love painting mountains, and one of the great things about living in New Zealand is plenty of them to paint! One of my favourite mountains to paint in New Zealand are Mt Talbot and Mt Crosscut, located in the Fiordland region of the south island.

In this step-by-step painting tutorial, I will show you how to paint a serene mountain valley. Suitable for oils and acrylics.

How to Paint a Seascape in 7 Steps

How to Paint a Seascape in 7 Steps

Painting breaking waves is fun!!!! …and you can create some awesome seascapes where a breaking wave is the hero of the painting, add rocks, white water, spills, clouds and light angles and you can create some very engaging seascapes.

This seascape painting which I will show you how to paint was inspired by the coastline of Wellington, New Zealand, where the sea can be pretty rough when a southerly weather system is passing through…but at the same time provides excellent subject matter for seascape paintings.

So, lets get started….

How to Paint Trees and Foliage

How to Paint Trees and Foliage

This painting was inspired by an area called Dalefield which is located in the Wakatipu Basin, just outside of Queenstown, New Zealand. I frequently come to this area to paint as there are so many subjects to capture on canvas including trees, fields, mountains and animals.

I came here to paint in March the day after we’d had a cold spell of weather that left snow on the mountains. Given that New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere the seasons are reversed and so February is a summer month. Anyway I thought it would make for an interesting painting with trees and fields juxtaposed against some snowy mountains.

How to Salvage a Painting that Isn’t Working!!!!

How to Salvage a Painting that Isn’t Working!!!!

Have you ever gotten deep into a painting only to look at it and think ‘oh crap, it’s not working’!!! Don’t worry, this has happened to me many many times! Even with the hours you spent planning your painting and all the sketches you did prior to starting it, sometimes when it comes to actually painting the art work you imagined, it just doesn’t work! But do not despair because you can salvage a painting that is not working!

How to Paint a Mountain Landscape – A Step by Step Guide

How to Paint a Mountain Landscape – A Step by Step Guide

In this step by step painting demonstration I am going to show you how to paint this mountain landscape shown in the picture below. This landscape painting is based on Mount Talbot in Fiordland, New Zealand. It is a huge mountain range which ultimately leads to the epic Milford Sound, this is a great subject for landscape painting.

How to Paint a Snowy Mountain Landscape En Plein Air

How to Paint a Snowy Mountain Landscape En Plein Air

I love landscape art, especially traditional realism painting and I have been painting landscapes for many years. Whilst I paint a lot in my studio one of the things I love to do is paint outside on location in the great outdoors. This is called painting ‘en plein air’, which is a French phrase meaning to ‘paint outdoors’. Plein air painting is not only thoroughly enjoyable, and great for the mind, body and spirit, but it also helps immensely with improving your studio work.

Plein air painting teaches you to really look at the landscape, its forms, colours and tonality. It teaches you to loosen up your painting technique, improves your use of colour and understanding of composition. It also teaches you to paint quickly as the light and weather conditions are always changing.

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