Ideally, you have a landscape subject for your painting already in mind. For the painting I did, I had the reference photo below I was working from.
Shelley Hanna Fine Art
Are you ready to take your landscape painting skills to the next level? In this tutorial, you’ll discover essential techniques and tips that both beginner and experienced artists can use for creating stunning landscape paintings.
In this tutorial, I will go through my 10 step process of painting a landscape in oils, from prepping the canvas to sketching out the composition and adding the finishing touches. So get out your paints and brushes, because we’re about to get creative.
2 Minute Landscape Painting in Oil
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Step 1 – Prepare The Canvas
Start off on the right foot by priming your canvas before you start painting. I had a 5″x7″ oil primed linen panel ready to go before I started (I like the acrylic primed linen canvases as well). I love working on linen canvases as they have a smoother surface than the cotton canvases you would buy at places like Michaels.
If you only have a cotton canvas, no worries. I would suggest adding another layer or two of gesso and lightly sand between coats to get a smoother surface. Make sure your canvas is fully dry before you start painting.
This linen canvas was already oil primed. I used some art measuring tape to get my guides drawn.
Step 2 – Plan Out A Composition For Painting A Landscape
Ideally, you have a landscape subject for your painting already in mind. For the painting I did, I had the reference photo below I was working from.
What I chose to do was take the image into Photoshop and do a little “tweaking”.
Reference photo for landscape painting.
The first thing I did was increase the saturation of the photo. I was looking at some paintings done by Edgar Payne and used one of his color schemes for inspiration. I would encourage you to look at a lot of landscape paintings done by people you admire so you can get an idea of where you want to go with your work.
After changing the saturation of the photo, I moved some elements around to create a composition that felt more dramatic. In the image below, I increased the size of the rock formation on the left side. This created a “window” for the viewer to look through between the two rock formations.
Make The Golden Ratio Part Of The Plan
The golden ratio, also called the golden mean or the golden section, is a mathematical concept that shows how two numbers relate to each other when the ratio of the sum of the numbers to the bigger number is the same as the ratio of the bigger number to the smaller number. I know, a little hard to explain in words, which is why I’ve added the graphic below.
The golden ratio has a value of about 1.61803398875. If you would like a deeper dive with detail, visit the golden ratio page on Wikipedia.
I used the vertical and horizontal lines shown in red to create my grid.
Used in art, architecture, and design, the golden ratio has an aesthetically pleasing quality. It is used by artists to make compositions that are harmonious and balanced.
The golden ratio is also found in nature, such as in how leaves are arranged on a stem or how the spiral in seashells are formed.
Below you can see how I applied the golden ratio grid to my reference image.
Changes to the composition were influenced by the golden ratio grid applied in Photoshop.
I drew the same grid onto my canvas to help me sketch out the image in charcoal. You must make sure the image you are working from is the same proportion to your canvas in order for your drawing to be accurate. I made my image in Photoshop the same size as my canvas panel.
Using the golden ratio for composition is one of my favorite secrets.
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