Hey Artists True story. Back in 2016 I was painting plein air at the side of Lake Hayes in Queenstown. A beautiful spot. I decided to make the willow trees the feature of the painting. When I finished, it looked completely flat. I couldn't figure out why. Then it hit me. The willows had no leaves. It was winter, and their bare twigs were so light in value that they just dissolved into the rest of the landscape. I'd painted exactly what was there, and it didn't work. That's when it clicked: what you see in nature doesn't always translate to canvas. Everything comes down to tonal values. Get those right and the painting reads. Get them wrong and no amount of colour mixing will save it. If you want to see how I apply this from the very first brushstroke, my Four Landscapes Video Bundle walks through four complete paintings from start to finish - mountains, fields, water, and trees, with values leading the way throughout. Just $19 USD with instant access. Grab it here: https://go.samuelearp.com/landscapes-video-bundle Has anyone else had a moment like this...where painting exactly what you saw just didn't work? Would love to hear your stories below. Happy painting Sam P.S. If you want to go deeper on this, this is exactly what I teach every Sunday inside Sam's Landscape Painting School: https://go.samuelearp.com/landscape-painting-school

Hey artists Are you struggling with composition in your landscape paintings? Composition is one of those things that comes up again and again, not knowing where to begin, feeling overwhelmed by a scene, not knowing how to arrange things so the painting actually works. So I'm sharing a free hour-long class I recorded live with a group of my painting students a couple of years ago. I walk through a collection of simple composition formulas that are easy to remember and easy to use in your own paintings, with lots of real examples throughout. Comment "COMPOSITION" below, and I'll send you the link. Happy painting, Sam P.S. Keep an eye out over the next few days. I've got something pretty exciting coming that I think a lot of you are going to love. More on that soon.

Hi everybody, I just finished this wave painting from Sam's tutorial.

Hi from Australia. I have just come home from a week away in central NSW painting. Not sure if Plein air is my thing (as opposed to studio) with all the natural elements to deal with. I need to get a lot faster and looser. Maybe more practice will help 🤷‍♀️

Hey Artists I put together a blog post a while back that I still think is one of the most useful things on my site, 37 landscape painting tips drawn from my own experience over the years. It covers everything from colour mixing and tonal values to composition and brushwork. If you're just getting started, it'll give you a solid foundation. If you've been painting for a while, you'll probably still find a few things worth thinking about. You can read it here: https://samuelearp.com/blog/landscape-painting-tips/ Happy painting, Sam P.S. If you want to go deeper on this with live weekly painting classes, take a look at Sam's Landscape Painting School here: https://go.samuelearp.com/landscape-painting-school