Lake Scene by Linda St. Cyr
Landscape paintings done in acrylic paint get better with practice unless you are born with a natural talent to apply the paint brush to the canvas. Breaking up the steps of painting in acrylics makes learning to paint landscapes easier and more manageable.
Instructions
1. Find a photo of a landscape by looking through magazines, books or newspapers. Look for one that is simple and free of animals or people. Study the photo's colors, and look for details that bring the picture to life. These details will become more apparent as the painting progresses.
2. Sketch out the landscape on the canvas board. Paint will be applied over this sketch, but it gives a good idea of placement, perspective and depth. It also sections off the canvas board, which makes painting easier in a step-by-step manner. Detailing is not necessary with the sketch on the canvas board; a general outline works fine.
3. Look at the canvas and determine where the sky is. Place a small amount of white, light blue and ultramarine blue acrylic paints on a piece of palette paper. Use the palette knife to get the correct color to match the sky in the photo landscape. If the sky has hints of red, purples or grays, use different acrylic paints to get the color desired. If the area of sky is big, use a large brush to apply the color. Go over this section one or two times, adding clouds if necessary. Dry this section with a hair dryer. Acrylic paints dry quickly.
4. Paint the land sections of the canvas board with a very dark paint as a base. Mix raw umber acrylic paint and a small amount of ultramarine blue with a palette knife on the palette paper to get this dark base color. Acrylic paintings work with colors from dark to light. Overlapping colors is necessary to get the desired effect on an acrylic landscape painting.
5. Use different techniques to get the effect of grass, bushes or flowers. Use horizontal strokes with a fan brush over the dark base color to create blowing grass. A piece of sea sponge can create leaves and bushes. Go over these sections several times, starting with the dark base, then a dark color, then moving to lighter and brighter colors. After one color is done, dry with the hair dryer, then apply the next color. The dark colors as a base will give the lighter colors a brighter appearance.
