Whether you paint in the studio or outdoors in nature, you gotta look for the light !
The subject may be your first excitement about why you're painting the subject, maybe it's the color, but look to put that subject 'in the right light'...
Most artists would agree that 80 percent of your landscape painting is going to end up
in the middle value range. It's what I call baking the cake...the bare bones, structure - call it what you may.
It has to be there to have a solid painting, assuming you're painting in a representational way.
In the beginning stages of learning to 'see', we all want to paint the bling. So the amateur artist will go right for the frosting, but the painting has no structure, so remember to 'bake the cake' to hold it together. And with the 'frosting', plan your lights and darks for the punch that will add excitement to your ' painting.
Take the time to look for the light and then look for your design - whether it's a panorama or something right at your feet. Your painting will be stronger for it.
www.permissiongranted.org
J. R. Baldini
author of the forthcoming book
"Permission Granted - learning to breathe on planet Earth"
