Okay, so today I’m gonna walk you through this little landscape project I’ve been messing around with. Called it “landscape with a balance” ’cause, well, you’ll see why.
First off, I started with a blank canvas, literally. I grabbed a piece of Bristol board – it’s thick and holds up well to layering. Then I sketched out the basic shapes. Nothing fancy, just some rolling hills, a suggestion of trees, and a river snaking through it all. Think Bob Ross, but way less skilled.
Next up was the base layer. I mixed up some acrylics – blues, greens, and browns – and did a thin wash over the whole thing. This is where I kinda messed up a bit. The wash was too even, everything looked flat. So, I grabbed a sponge and started dabbing different shades to create some texture. Definitely helped.
Then came the hard part: building up the layers. I wanted to create depth, so I focused on the foreground first. I added details to the hills, like little rocks and patches of grass. For the trees, I used a fan brush to stipple on the leaves. It took forever, but it was worth it. The trees actually looked like trees!
The river was tricky. I wanted it to look like it was reflecting the sky, so I used a lot of blues and whites, and some subtle greys for the shadows. I also added some ripples with a fine brush to give it a sense of movement.
Now, here’s where the “balance” part comes in. I felt like the left side of the landscape was too heavy, too many details. So, on the right side, I added a single, prominent tree, silhouetted against the setting sun. This immediately shifted the visual weight and made the whole thing feel more balanced.
I also tweaked some colors to achieve balance. Darker colors are “heavier”, so I moved those to the right side of the composition, and made the left side lighter. I’m not sure if this is proper art stuff, but it looks better.
Finally, I added some finishing touches: a few birds in the sky, some highlights on the water, and a general clean-up of the edges. Stepped back, looked at it for a while, and decided it was done.
Was it perfect? Nah. But I learned a lot about layering, color mixing, and creating depth. And most importantly, I learned about the importance of balance in a composition. Next time, I will try using oil paints.
