Take a landscape such as this and turn it into an abstract-style painting.
Painting in abstract can be described as breaking down what you see into basic shapes and forms, rather than painting the precise details of what you see. When painting abstract landscapes you are painting in a more conceptual way rather than literal, and more simplistic details rather than realistic. Basic drawing and painting skills are all that is required to paint an abstract landscape.
Instructions
1. Set up your easel outdoors in the area of the landscape that you want to paint. Lay out your paints and paintbrushes and place the canvas on the easel.
2. Study the landscape to see the shapes and colors that exist within it. Do not look at details, but look at what you see in terms of outlines and forms. Decide on the colors you want to use to paint your landscape.
3. Sketch the landscape onto the canvas. Decide what parts of the landscape you want to appear within the composition of your painting, and draw very simplified outlines of the shapes you see. It is not necessary to create a background and foreground, but simply create flat shapes. It is also not necessary, for example, to draw a tree with the exact shapes of the leaves, but simply draw the shape you see as a whole. You can also get creative and distort the shapes that you actually see.
4. Paint in the shapes you have just drawn with acrylic paints. Use a medium-sized flat paintbrush and create broad brushstrokes. Paint your shapes in flat colors. Simplicity is key for abstract painting, so creating a flat paint effect, rather than adding several layers of colors from dark to light, will work to achieve this.
5. Paint an outline around shapes you drew with a dark color if desired. This step is necessary if you want to create a distinct separation of the shapes, or you can avoid this step and paint the shapes flush against each other. Finish filling in the painting entirely and then allow the painting to dry thoroughly for 24 to 48 hours.
