Painting Foundations: Light and the Landscape

Capturing the subtleties of a beautifully lit skyline in a painting requires an understanding of certain foundational concepts. In this course, learn key techniques for tackling light and color harmony within acrylic landscapes by completing a large, impressionistic studio painting of a skyline in Venice, Italy. Instructor Will Kemp kicks off the course by diving into the different qualities of lighting within a landscape, explaining how the evening light affects the color temperature of a scene. Will also covers some basics for working with acrylic paint, and reviews the different brushes and materials you'll need for this painting. Plus, he goes into adding texture to the surface of your canvas, mixing pastel base colors, loosening your brushstrokes, and accurately capturing architecture in your drawings.

Learning objectives
Painting color and light with acrylics
Observing different lighting conditions
Choosing the right materials and brush size
Adding texture onto the canvas
Drawing architecture accurately using verticals and scaling up
Judging color in isolation to mix harmonious color strings
Practicing line variation with the rigger brush
Adding fine lines for architectural detail
Painting water
Thinking abstractly to create impressionistic brush marks
Increasing color saturation
Injecting a warmth and glow by glazing
Adding an impressionistic flair with a palette knife