Create A Scenic Painting: A Step-By-Step Guide

Painting a beautiful scenery can be a rewarding and creative endeavor, allowing you to capture the beauty of a landscape and express your unique artistic vision. In this step-by-step guide, we will explore the essential techniques and processes involved in creating a stunning scenery painting. From choosing the right materials and preparing your canvas to composing your scene and adding final details, each step will bring you closer to crafting a masterpiece that showcases your skills and imagination. So, whether you're a beginner seeking guidance or an experienced artist looking for inspiration, let's embark on this artistic journey together and uncover the secrets to painting breathtaking sceneries.

Choosing a subject and composition

Determine Your Inspiration: Begin by thinking about what inspires you and what type of scenery you find aesthetically pleasing. It could be a specific place you've visited, a picture you've seen, or a particular theme that resonates with you, such as a tranquil lake, a vibrant sunset, or a snowy mountain range. Consider what elements of nature or man-made structures intrigue you and narrow down your subject matter to something that truly excites and motivates you.

Select a Focal Point: Every good composition needs a focal point, which is the area of the painting that immediately draws the viewer's attention. It could be a striking tree, a majestic mountain peak, a reflection in the water, or a unique building. Choose something that stands out and makes your painting unique. Place your focal point strategically, usually slightly off-center, to create a more interesting and balanced composition.

Consider the Rule of Thirds: Imagine your canvas divided into nine equal parts by a 3x3 grid. The grid lines and intersections created by this division are the basis of the Rule of Thirds. Place the important elements of your composition along these lines or at their intersections to create a well-balanced and dynamic painting. For example, you could position the horizon on the lower third line to emphasize the sky and create a sense of vastness.

Use Leading Lines: Incorporate leading lines in your composition to guide the viewer's eye through the painting. These could be natural lines, such as rivers, paths, or rows of trees, or implied lines created by a series of objects. Leading lines add depth and perspective to your artwork, creating a sense of distance and drawing the viewer into the scene.

Play with Perspective: Experiment with different perspectives to make your scenery more interesting. Try a bird's-eye view to give a sense of grandeur and scope, or get down to eye level and paint from a human perspective to create a more intimate and personal feel. You can also play with forced perspective, using foreground elements to frame the scene and add depth.

By carefully choosing your subject and composing your artwork using these guidelines, you'll be well on your way to creating a beautiful and captivating scenery painting. Remember to keep practicing and experimenting with different techniques to develop your own unique style.

Selecting the right colours

Find Inspiration

Start by gathering inspiration from various sources such as nature, other paintings, or even your imagination. Consider the mood and atmosphere you want to create in your painting. Do you want it to be calming and serene, vibrant and energetic, or something else entirely? Choosing a colour palette that aligns with your desired mood will help you convey the right emotions to your viewers.

Understand Colour Theory

Familiarise yourself with basic colour theory to make informed decisions about colour combinations. Analogous colours, which are next to each other on the colour wheel, often create a harmonious and soothing effect. Complementary colours, on the other hand, are opposite each other on the colour wheel and produce a vibrant and contrasting look. A triadic colour scheme, using three colours evenly spaced on the colour wheel, can also create an interesting balance of harmony and contrast.

Consider Warm and Cool Undertones

The underlying tones of colours play a significant role in the overall atmosphere of your painting. Warm colours, like reds, oranges, and yellows, can evoke a sense of energy and warmth, while cool colours, such as blues, greens, and purples, tend to create a calming and soothing effect. Consider whether you want your scenery to lean more towards the warm or cool side of the spectrum.

Experiment with Colour Relationships

Don't be afraid to experiment with different colour relationships. Try using colours that are not typically next to each other on the colour wheel, or mix and match hues to create unique combinations. Sometimes, breaking the rules can lead to captivating and unexpected results. Play around with colours and see what works best for the specific scenery you are trying to depict.

Think About Lighting

The lighting in your painting can also guide your colour choices. If you're depicting a sunny day, warm colours can enhance the bright and cheerful atmosphere. On the other hand, a cloudy or shady scene might call for cooler colours with softer hues. Consider the direction of light and how it interacts with the colours in your composition.

Sample Your Colours

Before committing to your colour palette, consider creating small studies or colour swatches to see how the colours work together. This allows you to experiment and make any necessary adjustments. You can also try using different techniques, such as layering or mixing colours, to achieve the desired effect. Remember, painting is a journey of exploration, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to selecting colours. Trust your instincts and let your creativity guide you.

Brush techniques

Priming Brush

Use a wide, thick brush to cover large areas quickly. This type of brush is perfect for applying a base coat or primer to your canvas or surface.

Lay-in Brush

A flat-tipped brush with a thick ferrule of bristles can carry large amounts of paint, making it ideal for blocking in colours and creating flat washes.

Graining Brush

This brush is cut in a way that leaves unpainted areas, allowing you to create a wood-grain effect. You can also achieve a wood-grain effect using the dry-brushing technique.

Liner Brush

The liner brush has a flat edge, perfect for outlining and detail work. Use this brush for creating fine lines and intricate details in your scenery.

Dry Brushing

This technique involves using a brush that is relatively dry but still holds paint. Drag the brush across the surface to create a scratchy, textured look. You can also use a stiff-bristled brush with thick paint to create parallel lines. Another variation of this technique involves allowing a base coat to dry, applying a glaze, and then dragging a clean, dry brush through the glaze to create a grain effect.

Scumbling

Scumbling is a simple technique that adds depth to your painting. Use a stiff-bristled brush with a small amount of pigment and dab the paint onto the canvas. This will leave the colour underneath exposed and slightly blended with the top layer, creating a soft, hazy effect.

Stippling

Add texture and highlights to your painting with the stippling technique. Use a densely packed round brush or a stencil brush, dip it into your paint, and then dab the brush like a sponge, bouncing it on the canvas. You can build up the effect using multiple colours and layers.

Spattering

Create a stunning sand or pebble effect by dipping an old brush into your chosen colour and then flicking the brush hairs with your fingers. You can also use spattering to create a dirty water effect by using a diluted grey or brown paint.

Remember to maintain your brushes properly by cleaning and storing them carefully after each use.

Layering and blending

One important consideration when layering is the drying time of each layer. In general, it's best to wait until one layer is dry before applying the next. However, you can also experiment with wet-on-wet blending, where fresh paint is applied to an area of the canvas where the paint is still wet, creating seamless gradients and transitions. If you want to slow down the drying time of your paint to allow for easier blending, you can use a slow-drying medium or add water to your paint. Just be mindful that adding too much water can break down the binder and affect the final appearance of your paint.

When blending, soft brushes like filberts are ideal as their smooth edges allow for seamless colour transitions. Feathering is a blending technique where the edges of two colours are gently blended together, creating soft gradients, subtle shadows, and realistic skin tones. If you want to add texture to your paintings, palette knives are a great tool to create bold, expressive strokes and sculptural effects.

In terms of paint types, acrylic paints are a popular choice for layering and blending due to their brilliant pigments and rapid drying properties. You can layer any acrylic paint or product over another, and they will stick well even if the underlayer is heavily diluted with water. However, be sure to use high-quality products and a sturdy surface to avoid cracking.

Adding details and finishing touches

When it comes to adding details and finishing touches to your scenic painting, take a step-by-step approach to ensure a polished final product. Start by taking a step back and assessing the overall composition. Look for any areas that feel incomplete or lacking in detail. You can begin to add the smaller elements that bring your scene to life at this point. Here are some specific techniques and considerations for this stage:

Begin with the foreground: Focus on the closest objects or elements in your scene first. Add any final highlights or lowlights to these objects to give them a sense of form and depth. You can also add finer details like leaves on trees, blades of grass, or individual flowers, ensuring they are sharper and more defined compared to the background elements.

Add distance with haze: To create a sense of depth, use a technique called aerial perspective, or haze. This involves adding a slight haze or blur to objects as they recede into the distance. You can do this by softening the edges of distant objects, using cooler colors, and reducing contrast. This technique helps suggest atmospheric effects and creates a sense of space in your painting.

Incorporate reflective details: Water reflections, for instance, can add a beautiful element to your scenery. Pay attention to the angle of the sun and the direction of light when painting reflections. Use softer edges and muted colors for the reflected elements, and remember that the reflection will be affected by any ripples or disturbances in the water.

Enhance with texture: Build up texture in key areas to add interest and a sense of tactile quality to your painting. You can use a variety of tools and techniques to create texture, such as dry brushing, impasto (applying paint thickly), or using a palette knife. For example, you could add rough, craggy textures to rocks or create the appearance of rustling leaves with quick, short brushstrokes.

Finalize with subtle adjustments: Once you've added the main details, take a step back and look for any areas that need subtle adjustments. This could be softening an edge to suggest distance, adding a highlight to suggest a light source, or darkening a shadow to ground an object. These small tweaks can make a significant impact on the overall harmony of your painting.

Remember, the devil is in the details, so take your time with this stage and enjoy the process of bringing your beautiful scenery painting to life, stroke by stroke!

Frequently asked questions