I Painted Exactly What I Saw...And it Didn't Work!

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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

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