Tag: nature

Little waterfall and water

It’s been some time since I started this painting – and some time since I finished it. I just haven’t managed to update this blog with it. Which, of course, is a shame. So now I’m going to rectify this!

When I was thinking of a painting, I knew that I wanted water and that the rocks on the bottom should be visible. And a somewhat interesting scene. I’m pretty sure there are some very nice pictures around that fulfil this, but I searched for a while to find some – without luck. My own taste probably has to take some of the blame, but still …

In the end, I made use of AI to make some suggestions, which I in turn used for some inspiration. I have no qualms about using AI that way. Sometimes having something to look at for painting is better than painting directly from imagination.

A calming nature scene

As you see from the painting I show above here, I wanted a little waterfall, too. And the nature hat to fit, of course. So, I had all I wanted: Water, a waterfall, and rocks underwater.

Sketching the broad objects went quickly. Some of the details, too. Or the illusion of details. And then it stopped up for various reasons. But in the end I managed to add the rocks under the water, various degrees of details, and … when I asked the art teacher, she said that yes, now it’s finished.

Personally, I wasn’t sure if it was finished, so I waited a long time before I did ask. I wasn’t sure, because there’s always more that can be done, but I’m not going for photorealism, just a simplified painting, so at some point I have to stop.

And this was the point where I stopped! 😀

Towards the Lighthouse

It’s been an exciting start to the painting class this year, and I couldn’t resist the urge to embark on a personal artistic journey during our first session. While our teacher is always a valuable resource for guidance and does suggest themes to paint, I felt compelled to follow my own muse this time around.

My inspiration? A picturesque scene featuring a solitary lighthouse perched at the edge of a series of interconnected islets, linked by a quaint road and bridge. With a photo providing the needed inspiration, I dove into the world of acrylics, eager to bring this vision to life on canvas.

The initial stages of the painting involved blocking in the main colours, defining the vast expanse of the sky, the tranquil waters of the sea, and the main shapes of the islets and bridges. And the lighthouse, of course. However, as any artist knows, the creative process is never without its challenges. Sometimes a little break is needed to see the work in process from a little distance, both physically and time-wise.

Towards the lighthouse

Upon revisiting the painting after a brief hiatus, I realized the importance of refining the composition. The horizon demanded a straighter, more horizontal alignment, while the hues of the sea and the light in the sky needed to be subtly muted to evoke a sense of serene tranquillity. The rough outlines of the islets needed to be better defined, and I got some details in to make it easier to see the real shapes and figure out the placement of the lighthouse and bridge.

Ah, but the true heart of the painting emerged with the depiction of the lighthouse itself. Time was spent meticulously crafting its structure, ensuring that every colour and detail resonated authentically with the scene I envisioned. Or at least, making it look good. While not an exact replica of my reference, I aimed to capture the essence and spirit of this wonderful beacon.

With the lighthouse taking the main stage, attention turned to enhancing the surrounding landscape. Additional details were painstakingly added to the islets, bridges, and roads, imbuing them with a sense of rustic charm and character.

In the end, the road led the eyes from the bridge towards the lighthouse, where it rose towards the sky.

Paradise calling

I’m SO ready for warmer weather now. This is a small-ish acrylic painting I did some weeks ago when the weather was even colder. That was OK then – it was that time of the year. It was the colours and sunset that inspired me to do this, I love the warmth of it.

Dreaming of a tropical beach

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to dream of some time in a more tropical environment when the winter cold is ruling the outdoors.

Lighthouse in stormy weather

I wanted to paint a lighthouse in stormy weather, and with the help of AI I made some images that I used for inspiration

It’s been way too long since I’ve updated this blog now. Shame on me. Admittedly, I did post my lighthouse painting on Instagram, but I never got as far as writing about it here. So, time to do something about that.

A lighthouse in stormy weather

I painted this between Christmas and New Year, and was joined by mother who got inspired and wanted to paint a specific lighthouse on the Norwegian coast. One known as the most beautiful lighthouse in Norway. For me, it started with an idea: I wanted to paint a lighthouse, and I wanted it to be in stormy weather.

To achieve that I needed some reference pictures, but instead of searching for photos that I could use, I used one of the AI art generators to give me suggestions. A few tries and I got a few results that inspired me.

I mixed the ideas as I painted on the canvas; the sky from one image, the lighthouse and environment from another, and the waves varied a bit. The resulting picture is different from all of them, but I got the inspiration I wanted, and since the motive is imaginary in any case, I could easily take my artistic liberties and not make the lighthouse exactly as the picture. Although it mostly is. ????

There are still things I should practise, just to be able to paint better. There’s always something new to learn. Still, while I see the things I could do better, I’m still happy with what I made.

It’s Autumn

The topic: Trees. Theme: Autumn. At least, it was autumn for my part. And yes, this was a new challenge in the painting class, where we after an introduction to how different painters painted trees, and how their expressions changed during their lives, could either copy one of them, in our own styles or be inspired by them.

And there were many styles to choose from, too—anything from serene, naturalistic scenes to completely abstract, from many colours to few colours. Personally, I fell for a forest scene, with only trees. And painted in black and white (well, greys) except for one tree, with its leaves in full autumn colours. And a couple more.

That’s what I was inspired by. Except, I didn’t want a forest scene, I wanted something more urban. A little glimpse of the urban, but not any too straight lines. And, the result?

A glimpse of autumn in a grey town?

A few lines and squares in the background give the impression of buildings and windows. A car and a few streetlights make the impression stronger, and then the trees are in the foreground. Grey, except for the largest one in the middle, which is where all the golden autumn colours are concentrated. Spots of colours represent the leaves, both on the tree itself and fallen down on the ground.

All of this was done with loose brush strokes, much looser than the painting that inspired me, but – I’m happy with the result. It’s the first time I’ve tried something like that, so it was a win for me, all done in a short evening.

Aurora Borealis

Last year (which is not that long ago) I made this little painting of the northern light – and tried it with a much looser brush than I’ve done in my paintings so far; they’ve been more detailed. But this was a well-received present, and I’ve been told it has got many nice comments.

Northern light – the Aurora Borealis – over a winter landscape

It’s also a bit nice to hear about the little “wow” added when the light is turned off, and the glow in the dark effect is visible 🙂

Glow-in-the-dark

It’s fun to experiment like this. Other ideas are forming in my head, too 😉

A particular tree

Once upon a time, I was walking up towards a local mountain top. Honest. Despite the beginning, it’s not a fairy tale! Didn’t walk alone, I had good company. But the point is: On the way, we were walking past a tree that I thought looked quite photogenic. So I snapped a photo.

Time came for me to find a new motive for me to paint. Well – why not use one of my photos? Like, the one of a particular tree? So I did.

Yeah. No plein air for me. I need much more experience and paint quicker for that to be a viable alternative for me. Maybe some day, but for now I’m happy when I can paint inside.

So, with the photo next to me, I started to block in the colours.

In the beginning there were bright colours …

The colours weren’t exactly accurate, comepared to the photo, but at least I had got the main shapes in place. And this process went fairly quick. For me. But this was only the beginning. I needed to do more!

Colour changing nature

The colours couldn’t be that bright. While the original photo is quite saturated, I’ve learned that more realistic paintings need to be more moderate to be believable. So to perform the necessary adjustments, colours were changed, and some details added.

I must admit, it looked a lot more “boring” after this, but it’s not always the right thing to go wild and saturated!

So I continued.

Leave the leaves

Some more colour adjusting helped immensely, and the tree shouldn’t be bare. It was autumn. It should be full of green leaves. So I added them.

Ah! This was starting to look like something. While not as saturated scene as I might have wished for, I was happy with what I saw at this point.

Finished!

The last details were added. The painting was finished. The artist was happy. That is, me.

Is it identical to the photo?

Oh no!

But I think it’s a nice representation of what I saw, if simplified. And I’m ready to try a new motive, with new challenges.

What about the original?

OK, some may be interested in seeing how close to the photo the painting is. And I can help you there. I’ll show you:

The photo itself

This is how the original scene is. As you can see, I’ve taken some liberties, and there are definitely some differences. Not only in colours. But it was a very nice inspiration for me, and I’m happy with the result. Which is more important than have it identical. At least this time.

The eagle eyed among you have noticed the square pattern over the picture. This is so that it will be easier to keep the proportions correct when transferring the image to canvas. You may also notice that I don’t have the correct proportions in my painting, compared to the photo.

Yeah. Well. I originally drew it nicely – but painted over the lines when I blocked in the colours – and didn’t bother to draw it in exactly as it was afterwards. I did it quick and dirty after memory.

Still, the lines are there, and if anyone wants to try to paint it themselves, feel free. It would be fun to see the results!

Optical Illusions

I guess we all have seen various optical illusions; drawings that can be seen as two different things at the same time, images where the shapes also seem to hide or form other figures, geometrical constructs where the angles seem to be OK, but at the same time are completely impossible.

M.C.Escer: Waterfall
Waterfall by M.C.Escher

One well-known artist of the impossible geometry is the Dutch Maurits Cornelis Escher. Way more can be said of him and his art than I will do, other than that he serves as the inspiration for one of my paintings in progress.

The image I’m thinking of is “Waterfall” – impossible geometry where the water flows down in an aqueduct all the way, and ends up in a water all down into the beginning of the same aqueduct. All the action takes place in a limited space, and it’s easy to see how it’s done. But in my mind, I was playing with the idea of taking the same principle and transfer it into nature, making a believable picture, despite the water flowing downwards all the time, in a circuit with several waterfalls. Would it be possible?

I had a rough idea, sketched it on paper, just as rough, and decided that yes, it would be possible. Then I had to decide if I should make a more detailed sketch, using photos and stitch together something in Photoshop, or just start painting, with that rough sketch as my starting point. I went for the latter option, as the rest would have me spend way too long time before I could start painting at all.

It started out nice and quick. I blocked in the colours for the first shapes; sky, mountains, water, ground. Added some more details after I decided where the light should come from. Made the river flow from the lake in the distance towards a lake in the foreground, with some waterfalls on the way to make it obvious. Then the time came for me to make the river flow back, down from the current low point to the starting high point …

OK. It’s easy enough to make the river flow downwards, but it should also look natural. I spent some time thinking of this. It started getting hard …

Work in progress of my "impossible nature painting"
Work in progress. I’m getting there, but lots of work left.

As it is still a work in progress, I’m not finished. By far.I’ve blocked in the main colours, so I see the shapes and things are getting clearer. There’s still a lot of details that need to be painted though, but there is one thing that’s getting very clear to me: I was overly optimistic about the time I would use on it. There’s more thinking to do than expected, to make it look convincing. So much that it has been hard to sit down and do some actual painting. There are other pictures I want to try, too, so maybe I’ll just start that before I finish this one. Luckily, that’s very much allowed. Getting my spirits high on painting something that doesn’t require this much thought can only be of the positive, and it’ll make it easier to start on this one again. I hope.

Sounds like I’m trying to convince myself here, but in any case, I’ll have to get some painting done again, and show it.