Today’s column is on a subject that I encountered years ago and was recently reminded of — avoiding the cartoon look in a painting. This may seem like a weird thing to write about, but it is a look I happened upon once or twice out in the […]
Using a value scale to assist your efforts when painting out in nature can be useful, especially when there is a lot of glare, like in snow painting, beach scenes, or just regular sunny days. The need arises when you have a value that you are trying to […]
When starting a painting, it is important that the first few values get put down on the canvas correctly before any other brushstrokes are recorded. I say value with the understanding that we are talking about color here — of course the color isn’t correct unless it […]
John Hughes gives tips on painting architecture in plein air painting.
In the June 2011 edition of 15 Bytes John Hughes discusses the difference between painting things and painting the way things look.
Ever since the early eighties, when I began studying plein air painting in a serious way, I have been cautioned not to “chase the light” when painting on location; but as in everything, in art there are no hard rules, only a lot of sound advice based on […]
Because of their ability to create beauty and form, the illusive character of shadows must be observed and understood by the successful landscape painter. Shadows, it could be said, are the essence of form. Without them a landscape is reduced to flat masses, lacking in much interest and […]
