Artist Daily : painting water

A Painting Just Waiting to Happen

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 04:06:00 GMT

I was in Florida a few weeks ago and felt so lucky to be in such a warm, sunny place that I don't think I spent a minute indoors. I was kayaking, mountain biking, walking on the beach, and swimming in the ocean. And again and again I would look around and think, "That's a landscape painting waiting to happen."

Pebble Beach, California I by Keiko Tanabe, watercolor on paper, 14 1/4 x 21 1/2.

Now, as I sit here bundled up in a sweater and scarf, I'm trying to really think about what made those scenes that I saw worthy of a landscape artwork. First, what comes to mind is the color. When I was kayaking in the mangroves, I was struck by the bold but simple colors I saw--rich, deep blue water; lush green vegetation and tree leaves; and pale taupe-gray tree limbs. In terms of a color map, this would make for a pretty simple fine art landscape painting, and yet I can't think of anything that could truly enhance that natural beauty.

Next, I remember how lovely the light was. I was mesmerized by the dappled reflections of sunshine on the water or when the sun would make a crashing wave seem to glow transparently. Those light effects that stick in my mind are the same qualities that the best landscape paintings have to offer too.

I would also have to add a bit of the unexpected to this hypothetical landscape artwork that I'm painting in my head. The dim but at the same time really rich light that would settle on the landscape in the evenings wasn't something I expected to see, and that's what made it so appealing.

Light at Sunset by Joseph McGurl, oil on canvas, 24 x 36.

In my mind's eye I also see an incredible amount of texture or pattern. Whether it was leaves in trees, reflections on the ocean's surface, or the pattern on a bird's wing--the landscape was alive with repeated lines, colors, and forms.

Thinking of the landscape this way, it's clear to me why I thought these scenes were landscape paintings waiting to happen--it's because they were! I pinpointed the elements that made the views noteworthy in my memory, and those are the same elements that would go into great landscape artwork. But in order to really fulfill my vision, I need more landscape painting know-how, which is why I've turned my attention to Johannes Vloothuis's downloadable videos. There are lessons on painting water, trees, skies, and more. See for yourself what Vloothuis might have to offer you and enjoy!

I Am Torn Between Two Men

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:13:00 GMT

Granted, this story gets a lot less steamy when I tell you that I'm torn between the work of two oil painting artists, Adolph Menzel and Jonas Lie. I've studied the work of both of these artists on my own for quite a while, trying to puzzle out why I like each of them.

Menzel's oil painting art is all clarity and light. His genre scenes like The Balcony Room are testimonies to seeing a scene and filtering out the details so that the essential beauty of it shines through. Menzel was a master at turning small things--like a curtain hung over a door or a pool of light on a floor--into extraordinary moments.

The Balcony Room by Adolph Menzel, oil on canvas, 1845.

With Lie, I just wish I could watch him work. The oil painting techniques he used to build color and paint water show some serious skill. When you look at his oil painting pieces of the sea, like The Old Ships Draw to Home Again, you can almost feel the cold wind on your face because the artist's color choices convey the chilly air and early morning light so well.

The Old Ships Draw to Home Again by Jonas Lie, c. 1920, oil on canvas.

I think what I am drawn to in both of these oil painting artists is the honest quietude and simple grace they bring to their work. Neither added needless drama to the scenes they depicted. Such bombast wasn't necessary when your colors are so interesting and your compositions so strong. So instead of "choosing" between these two artists, I think I am content to realize they both hold a place in my art-loving heart because they are two peas in a pod.

More than anything though, I think I am drawn to oil painting art like Menzel's and Lie's because of how the work is built from underpainting to final strokes. But with them I can only imagine how they created their work. In my attempt to learn how to paint with oil, I seek out resources that allow me to watch a painter's process because it gives me a better sense of how to oil paint more than anything else I've tried. Our Step-by-Step Painting Guide offers more than 20 painting lessons broken down to their essential steps. It's an eye-opener if you love to see the painting process unfold. And right now Step-by-Step Painting Guide and many other digital resources are 50% off! Enjoy!

Ahoy Matey! Your Free eBook on Painting Water Has Arrived!

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 03:11:00 GMT

Being outdoors revitalizes us in a number of ways. You can relax and laze away the day in the shade, climb the tallest peak in sight, or be awe-inspired by the waterways around you. Of late, I am definitely in the latter camp. A good friend of mine has just gotten a small boat and we go out on the water whenever we can because there is something really special about being out there. It is mesmerizing--peaceful and powerful all at once, and you see light and motion in ways you can't when you are on land.

Surf at Prout Neck by Guy Corriero, watercolor and casein painting, 2011.

Water painting can be the same way. It can turn an "ordinary" landscape painting into something with visual interest and dynamism. And there are formulas that an artist can follow to capture the play of water currents, the lapping of water on the surface of the ocean, and the crash of waves on the shore. The latest free eBook from Artist Daily opens the door to all of this.


William Hays paints light and color effects of various bodies of water.

Paint the Flow and Movement of Water: Painting Techniques, Methods, and How to Paint Water with Power and Rhythm covers everything I want to know about water painting. It starts with Guy Corriero's unique approach to recognizing how water moves and circulates through close observation and a bag of tricks that involve painting sea foam, knowing the anatomy of the wave, and using a particular kind of brush.

William Hays takes it from there and talks about how color contrasts are his key compositional tool for the reflection and refraction of light on different bodies of water--shallow pools, shorelines, and offshore depths. Plus there are three step-by-step water painting demonstrations that breakdown the essential elements of painting water. All in all, Paint the Flow and Movement of Water: Painting Techniques, Methods, and How to Paint Water with Power and Rhythm is one that I'll keep on hand all summer. Download your copy now! Enjoy!

Painting with Dreams, Memories, History and Myths

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:05:00 GMT

Sonata of the Sea--Finale by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, 1908.

One of my favorite movements in art is the Symbolist movement of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The artists were so free in exploring what mattered to them—personal narrative, rich histories and mythologies, and even their own dreams. There was less self-consciousness about if their subject matter was valid or appropriate, and more indulgence in their artistic muse. That mindset is inspirational to me.

The work that came out of this exploration is romantic, strange at times, but most of all striking because it is something that stands alone and not something that I can say I have seen before. Here are several ways the Symbolists play with landscape painting—methods that I think could make a difference in my own work, and hopefully in yours as well.

Play with scale. Realist landscape paintings tend to be mindful of presenting an accurate sense of scale: tree to hill to river and so on. But if you play with scale—like turning an ocean wave into a mammoth ten-story tidal wave—you are turning your painting from a mere depiction to something with a keener edge.

No need to be literal. Symbolists certainly knew how to create straightforward depictions in their landscape art but chose not to be literal for the sake of the story they wanted to present. Fantin-LaTour's Le Soir shows three female figures bathing on the rocky shore of a misty coast. This place could be anywhere, and the artist left it that way because the details of the location were not the point. The landscape was a jumping off point for the narrative.


Le Soir by Henri Fantin-Latour.		Broek in Waterland by Jan Toorop, 1889.

Water painting is key. Water—still waters, moving waters—is highly symbolic throughout Western literature and art. The Symbolists presented water in various ways—altering its color, playing with how light reflects on it, making it seem almost airy like a mist or fog—and sometimes positioned a river or stream in a way that seemed natural and highly unnatural all at once.

No matter if I am painting a landscape that I've invented in my mind like the Symbolists or one that I can stand right in front of, I want to know how to tackle certain landscape painting techniques so that I can do both successfully. Mitchell Albala's book, Landscape Painting, and our Urban Landscape in Watercolor DVD contain information and instruction that I find really helpful for landscape and cityscape painting-both of which can be explored through narratives we use when painting landscapes of our own. Enjoy!

It's an Excuse to Paint Umbrellas

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:57:00 GMT


The Coming Storm by George Inness, 1879, oil on canvas, 27 1/4 x 41 3/4.

Are you as bored of pretty outdoor painting scenes as I am? My eyes just seem to glaze over when I see a plein air painting scene with picture perfect sunlight over an idyllic landscape. I'm just not inspired. Give me a little atmosphere; throw in an unexpected color, or use an unusual compositional element--and then I'm hooked.

Looking outside my window right now, it definitely isn't a scene worth writing home about--overcast, rainy, and a little grey. But it just might be a scene worth painting. Here are a few of the ways I could turn this bad weather scene into a plein air artist's best friend.

Well, first I'd tackle that sky. For a while I've been wondering how to paint clouds with more impact, and then I realized that I've been thinking only of the airiness and transparency of clouds. But I'm shoving that off to paint titans of the sky--massive cloud formations! Clouds can look like giants, formidable and weighty. So instead of painting just an overcast expanse, I could make it seem like a massive cloud cluster that is looming on the horizon.


	Situating a figure like this in your plein air painting can enliven a composition. (The Downpour by Bev Jozwiak, watercolor painting.)

Everywhere I look the trees are bare, but that is a great opportunity to paint the unique architecture of their forms. Plus, not every tree grows straight and tall--something that is easy to forget when they are covered with verdant foliage. In fact, they grow at some pretty dramatic angles with interesting lines.

Another way to take full command of this would-be plein air painting is by adding elements that aren't there. What about a person walking along with a bright blue umbrella? Or, if you are painting water or a seascape, a cluster of boats moored offshore? I'm all for letting my imagination run wild and infuse a painting composition with more liveliness.

Plein air painting is not about a gorgeous landscape. It is about creating a sense of place or a moment in time. And a real plein air painter can make any kind of weather or landscape work to her or his advantage by eking out what makes the scene unique. Our latest issue of Plein Air Painting magazine is all about giving artists the methods and strategies to do just that. And for more plein air tips--visit the new Plein Air Painting topic page on Artist Daily. I've pulled together great content for us all to be inspired by--from James Gurney's discussions of landscape and light to info on painting clouds and more. Enjoy!

He’s Nobody’s Fool When It Comes to Putting a Painting Together

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:57:00 GMT

Breaking the Light by Don Demers, 24 x 36, oil painting.

Don Demers knows that inspiration is always there if you know how to look for it, but he's also nobody's fool—he understands that to create a breathtaking and moving painting you sometimes have to merge moments together for the greatest impact.

That goes especially for seascape and landscape paintings. It is actually really rare to witness the kind of incredible natural beauty or breathtaking vistas that are often depicted in landscape art and ocean paintings. To expect that kind of excitement and power to emerge every time you set up your easel is a recipe for disappointment. But that doesn't mean unique and powerful moments don't occur. They just rarely share the stage with each other or, if they do, it is only for a fleeting moment.

That's where Demers' expertise comes in. In his landscape art, especially his seascapes, his approach is to fuse moments together for a final painting. He'll create three or four studies while he is out and will take them back into the studio and use the studies to create a final work. To me, that makes a lot of sense. Painting water can be such a matter of--no pun intended--fluidity and change, and this approach allows Demers to gets powerful results by piecing awe-inspiring moments together. I mean, really, how could you paint the crash and roar and glints and foamy spray of ocean shores and river convergences any other way?

Touches of Autumn by Don Demers, 10 x 8, oil painting.

I really like this approach because it doesn't put such pressure on me when I'm out there focusing on how to paint water. Wave paintings, especially, need this kind of approach to get the liveliness and movement of the water. In one study I can focus on the reflection of the sunlight on the water, in another it will be the color of the wave that occupies my attention. And through it all, I don't have to will a perfect moment to happen.


Acadian Cliffs by Don Demers, 12 x 14, oil painting.

As Demers points out in his new DVD, Marine Painting: Art of the Wave, altering and editing what you capture outdoors to make a better studio painting is where the creativity of an artist really comes into play. For Demers, about 70 percent of any painting is directly from one of his studies, and about 30 percent will be embellishments that he makes for the good and impact of the painting.

To learn how to strike this balance in your work, and for a great method on wave painting from one of the most well recognized maritime artists in America, getting your copy of Don Demers' Marine Painting: Art of the Wave is a no-brainer. Enjoy!

Painting the Illusion of Distance—Is It Just About Perspective?

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 03:58:00 GMT


Fifty by Mitchell Albala, 2006, oil painting on canvas. In this painting, the artist strongly distinguishes the land and sky to give a sense of vertical distance.

This summer I've been traveling a bit, but of course it's never as much as I would like. When I have gotten to the beach or camped out over a long weekend, I've noticed that trying to create the illusion of space—over valley peaks or a body of water—in a landscape painting can be difficult! The distance over water is sometimes deceptive and the atmospheric effects of air, light, and cloud cover in a valley can really distort what I see.

Yes, you can solve some of these problems with a sound knowledge of perspective. That is key for any sense of proportion in landscape artwork. But you can also get a good sense of the space from where you stand to the object in the distance a few other ways.

Reducing and massing together the forms, textures, colors, and details you see in the distance helps make for a less fussy work, and effectively recreates the way the eye sees.

Use scale to your advantage. This is a tried-and-true visual cue for artist and viewer alike. I know it seems elementary, but it bears repeating: the larger the object, the closer we think it is to us.


	Pinnacle Peak, Last Light by Mitchell Albala, 2010, oil painting on canvas. The vastness of this mountain view is made by the overlapping of the trees in the foreground and the elimination of detail throughout the work. It is if we are seeing it from a great distance.

A well-defined fore-, middle-, and background are also really crucial when painting water or vast stretches of an object that is fairly uniform. It might be that the texture you see in each of these areas changes with the distance implied. But it could also be color or painting light effects as they rest on different forms. It all depends on how you want to breakup the space.

I got all these landscape painting tips from just one section in Mitchell Albala's book, Landscape Painting. I found it to be readable, with plenty of great visual examples, and from an author who is foremost an artist-so I know his advice is in keeping with where I want to go with my own work. I hope it is the same with you. Enjoy!

And where have you been this summer? What challenges and triumphs have you encountered with your painting and drawing? Leave a comment and let me know!

Okay, okay! You win! Here’s your Free eBook on Plein Air Painting

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:47:00 GMT


Point Lobos, oil, 12 x 16. All works by Matt Smith.

Have you ever had a moment where you’ve stumbled on something unexpected and you think to yourself, “What a find!” That was so me a few days ago. I read an amazing Q&A that one of our editors, Allison Malafronte, had with plein air artist Matt Smith. Smith is a top plein air painter, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share his words of wisdom with you on his palette choices, painting intense light effects, and the landscape and plein air artists that have inspired him.

Smith's insights into plein air painting inspired us at Artist Daily to create our latest free eBook, Plein Air Painting Techniques: 18 Tips for Outdoor Painting from Artist Daily. In it, you'll find instruction on plein air landscape painting with oils and watercolors, how to use your camera to find the perfect composition, and painting water convincingly. Enjoy!

Allison Malafronte: Does your approach to plein air painting stay the same for the varied landscapes you paint?

Matt Smith: My interest in painting the Sonoran desert comes from my connection to this landscape. I grew up here, and have spent countless hours roaming and studying the desert. Even though the locations can be quite varied, my approach to painting remains the same. My palette and process do no change with location.

AM: As an instructor what tenets/topics do you focus on in your plein air workshops?

MS: My main focus when teaching any workshop is on the fundamentals. When I run into a problem while painting, I can usually trace it back to a lack of attention with one of the basics—drawing, values, design, and color—so it's only natural that I concentrate on this when teaching. I also emphasize the importance of working from life and developing a personal vision and technique.

AM: In almost every outdoor painting workshop I’ve attended you are often referred to as an artist who has really achieved an understanding of light in the landscape. Where did this come from?


	Tonto Color, oil, 12 x 16.

MS: While growing up in Arizona, I had the opportunity to study the effects of particularly intense sunlight on the desert landscape. This has been a great learning experience for me in understanding natural light. For instance, I have found when trying to capture the effects of intense sunlight, it's often more important to focus on what's happening in the shadows than in the highlights. The stronger the light source, the more reflected light you will see in the shadows, so it's important for students to capture that effect.

AM: What plein air painters or landscape artists of the past and present do you admire?

MS: It is critically important to be influenced by as many artists as possible. Numerous influences will contribute to a more personal style. There seems to be an emphasis by many younger artists to imitate a particular artist's style. The problem with this is that such a painter will often become a second-rate version of the artist they are imitating. When one is influenced by a variety of artists, there is a tendency to pull the most interesting aspects from that variety of work, and then apply it to his or her own work. Many have influenced my work over the years, including William Herbert Dunton, Edgar Payne, Maynard Dixon, Ogden Pleissner, Carl Rungius, and Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert. Contemporary influences include James Reynolds, Clyde Aspevig, Len Chmiel, Michael Lynch, Skip Whitcomb, and T. Allen Lawson.

For more with Matt Smith, read the entire interview here. And don't forget to download your copy of our latest free eBook: Plein Air Painting Techniques: 18 Tips for Outdoor Painting from Artist Daily.

Free eBook for Your Best Summer Outdoor Painting Experience

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:17:00 GMT


Sunset Mooring, Nova Scotia, by William H. Hays, 2004, oil, 38 x 28.

With summer in full swing, I've been spending as much time as possible outdoors, going to concerts and plays, walking from place to place when I do my errands, and just finding every excuse for an outdoor excursion. Plein air painting is another perk of the season. There's something invigorating about stepping outside and sharing space with your subject matter-breathing the same air, seeing the same light, and having an in-the-moment experience with the landscape.


	Dune Pathway, by Joann Ballinger, 2005, pastel, 5 3/4 x 7 3/4.



	Hopkins Road by Jean Stephens, 2000, oil, 28 x 48.

Creating plein air paintings can definitely test you as an artist. There are plenty of challenges—contending with the ever-changing elements, mixing paints quickly and accurately, editing a scene into a manageable composition while capturing the feel of the place, and doing all of this without the security and convenience of your studio. You really have to know your medium—what it is capable of doing in reaction to heat, sunlight, and humidity. That's where the books How to Paint: Pastels, How to Paint: Oils, and How to Paint: Acrylics can come in handy. Each book delves into the details of its specific medium, offering practical information and advice on finer points that may be helpful when painting in the field.

Painting outdoors can be one of the most rewarding activities a painter embarks upon. In a way it can make you the best artist you can be, because there's nothing—such as poor lighting or unreliable photos—skewing your vision. In our free eBook Oil Painting Techniques: 24 Tips to Learn How to Paint a Plein Air Landscape, artist-instructors and plein air painters share their unique approaches to how to paint landscapes. They discuss topics ranging from why watching objects in motion leads to a better understanding of how shapes, colors, patterns, and values change, to helpful tips on working with a limited palette, to how to paint water accurately.

With Oil Painting Techniques: 24 Tips to Learn How to Paint a Plein Air Landscape and any one of the How to Paint books—Pastels, Oils, or Acrylics—you'll be ready to create beautiful works of art en plein air, while appreciating what the natural world has to offer.