A Big Thank You
As the subtitle for this section of "General Discussion" reads, "Please share constructive landscape and painting experiences here," I wanted to share my own recent "constructive landscape painting experience".
Thank you, Ollie! What I know about watercolor has been through your videos. I am so grateful that you have taught techniques rather than simply giving us paintings to copy. And this forum’s question and answer section has anticipated my own, providing help for this project. Twice I was going to submit a question only to find it was already addressed. So, thank you to all who are participating in this Forum also.
I have aspired to do an expansive landscape typical of Ollie’s wonderful paintings. What started as an 8x6 inch (20x15 cm) sketch, turned into a 24x18 inch (60 x 45 cm) painting for a son who requested a large version. I have never done something beyond a 14”x11” (35x28 cm) painting and this had to work the first time—no redoing it, esp. given the cost of paper. I took to heart the need to spend sufficient time (a lot of time!) in the planning stage, practiced the techniques I knew I would need to use and paced myself in the execution.
This is a view toward the Sea of Galilee from Gamla in the Golan Heights. It is a camel humped fortress known as the “Masada of the North” where Jews held out against the Romans until Gamla fell in 67 AD, now marked by its ruins. I have been near there but had no personal photos for this site. So, I blended together 4 different photos found online with slightly different views and in different seasons. I wanted to capture that change from the green season to the browned off dry season. I even went on Google Maps streetview and found this scene from the overlook in the Gamla Nature Reserve and panned right and left to be able to picture the 360 degrees from this point.
I took this photo of the finished work outside on a cloudy day. With only my phone and no color correcting software, it isn’t exactly what I see in front of me (the greens are actually a bit greener and flowers in foreground pinker--I wish they showed better because they pop in the original ), but close enough to give you a good idea of how it turned out. I used only Daniel Smith Raw Sienna Light and Cobalt Blue on Arches Natural White 140 lb. cold pressed. As needed, there were occasional small dips into Raw Umber, Neutral Tint, Paynes Gray, Quinacridone Pink, Burnt Sienna and Windsor Newton Cadmium Red. The whole adventure occupied my available painting time from early February until this week. Very satisfying in the end. It may feel anticlimactic to go back to a smaller size. 😊
The main result for me was a sense of “finding my style,” which I think of as a somewhat loose representation of what is actually there in the scene. I want what I paint to resonate with anyone familiar with the place. I guess that means I am also realizing what Ollie has meant by “connection to the landscape”. After only 14 months of painting, though, I imagine my style has yet to fully evolve.
Again, thank you all for assisting in my journey thus far.
That's a lovely painting Connie - thank you for sharing it and your experience in bringing it about. I'm delighted, although not in the least surprised, to hear that the forum has been helpful for you; there's a super group of people on here, learning, offering advice, encouraging, criticising (in the good sense of the word.) It's great that you're using your experiences and techniques that you are learning to help you paint the landscapes that are meaningful to you. Your interest in the scene and diligence in the pre-painting stage has certainly paid dividends (it always does!) giving us a painting that a lovely sense of depth and space. Wonderful!