Experimenting with watercolors, in another art class...

Wanted to create a zigzag composition painting so I sketched out my ideas using no reference material. This is an oil painting on a 15” x 30” stretched canvas. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Hey Artists I've just uploaded a new YouTube video that I think you'll enjoy, especially if you love autumn scenes. In this video, I'm painting a cozy cottage nestled among glowing autumn trees, with mountains shrouded in cloud in the background. It's one of those scenes that feels warm and peaceful. In the video, I walk you through: - How I arranged the composition to guide the eye to your focal point naturally, in this case, the cottage becomes the star of the scene. - Building depth with atmospheric perspective, so your mountains recede beautifully into the distance. - Creating those glowing autumn trees with warm oranges and yellows, that frame the cottage without overwhelming it. - Working with soft light to create that atmospheric quality that makes autumn landscapes so magical. Watch the video below: Whether you're painting in oils or acrylics, these principles will help you create depth and atmosphere in your own autumn scenes. Happy painting Sam

I'm new to the group and the 'alert' is for me... I feel like this is not my domain - I am the world's laziest artist. I have no formal training and feel resistant to drawing out what I really should before I get started (I think it's my drawing skills that kill my vibe). Somehow, I have managed to create a few paintings I really love. But I've also gone AWOL on my art in lieu of business-building (which seems to have been never-ending for 36 years) ... So, here I am - ready to engage and be inspired by all you incredible people doing incredible heart-based things. Here's a random selection of some of my creations. (Sorry - they seems to have come up a bit grainy in the transfer...)

Hey Artists A couple of days ago, I decided to paint plein air in my local area. It's spring here in New Zealand, and it was a very pleasant evening for painting outdoors. I painted a beautiful vista of rolling green fields and majestic trees, and as I was doing so, I felt a great sense of peace and well-being, which is why I love painting outdoors so much. As I was painting, I thought to myself how awesome it is that I have the tools and knowledge to capture this beautiful landscape on canvas and confidently convey the feeling and essence of the location. However, this wasn't always the case. For many years, I struggled and floundered with my paintings. My compositions were terrible. I didn't understand how to create depth and distance in my paintings, and colour mixing was also a huge struggle for me. I wanted to paint confidently and create the landscapes I'd imagined in my head. However, I found myself constantly guessing at my colour mixes and hitting a brick wall when creating any depth in my paintings. I wanted to be a full-time artist and quit my soul-destroying job, but I didn't know how to do that at the time. Ultimately, I knew I needed help to get to the next level, so I started reaching out to some artists I liked to see if I could get some help, but no one would help me. It was very demoralising and frustrating. In the end, I got help from a fantastic artist who showed me the ropes, and my paintings drastically improved within two weeks! Thanks to getting an art mentor, I can now paint beautiful landscapes, such as the plein air painting I created the other evening, pictured below. I still feel very blessed and grateful that I got an art mentor, so I made it my life's mission to help and inspire struggling artists like yourself. If you would like to paint landscapes confidently and even be able to paint outdoors from life but struggle with compositions, tonal values, and color mixing, I can help you. Comment 'HELP' below. Let's hop on a quick Zoom call, and I'll see how I can help you reach your artistic goals.