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

Hello! Welcome to the Painters Hub. I'm Samuel, and I'm so glad you're here. 🎥 First: Watch my 10-minute Painters Hub tour (see video below 👇) See exactly how to navigate the community + discover which option is right for your painting journey THE TRUTH ABOUT LANDSCAPE PAINTING Most artists struggle because they jump straight to colour without understanding the foundations. Here's what actually works: Values do all the heavy lifting. Colours get all the glory. That's why we start with sketching and tonal values, not pretty colours. Master these fundamentals, and your paintings will transform. WHAT YOU GET IN THE FREE PAINTERS HUB I've organised my best YouTube tutorials into structured painting courses, so instead of hunting through hundreds of videos, you've got a clear path to follow. These courses cover my core techniques for landscapes, values, colour mixing, all the fundamentals you need to improve. READY TO GO DEEPER? For Rapid Transformation: Join the Sam's Art School ($39/month or $299/year) If you're serious about transforming your painting in the next 7 days with my complete framework—thumbnails, master sketch, values, colour, Sam's Art School is where that happens. You get: - Weekly LIVE painting classes where we work through paintings together - 60+ in-depth live class recordings, much more comprehensive than standard tutorials - My complete 4-stage framework for landscapes - Full critiques of your work - All the painting tutorials from the Hobby tier (so you get everything in one place) - An active community of committed painters - 14-day guarantee - cancel anytime The Art School is the complete package; everything I offer is in there. JOIN SAM'S ART SCHOOL: https://www.skool.com/samuel-earp-online-art-school/about Other Options That Fit Your Journey: I know for some of you, $39/month isn't in the budget right now, and for others, you might not be ready for the live class commitment just yet.

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