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Malcolm Dewey

What Painting Problems? Transform your painting with important skills and tweaks. These tips and skills will save you plenty of time and frustration.

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What Painting Problems? Transform your painting with important skills and tweaks. These tips and skills will save you plenty of time and frustration.

Every subject we choose to paint offers certain challenges or problems to solve. This course will look at common problems and how I go about solving them so that you can take your oil painting to new levels.

This course builds on my previous course, Learn to Paint With Impact, by looking at specific problems faced by painters. I look at various landscape problems such as countryside, street scenes, seascapes, beaches and skies.

How to plan, prepare and complete a landscape painting that will leave you more confident for the next painting. All the skills you will learn can be taken forward to build up your painting ability and increase your enjoyment of painting.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Plan, prepare and complete landscape paintings
  • Use essential painting techniques
  • Approach various landscape subjects with confidence
  • Solve typical and more advanced problems in landscape painting

Syllabus

Background to the course, materials required and objectives.

This course consists of selected topics that pose common problems to beginner and even intermediate artists. However as we solve on problem we often learn other techniques that are helpful to solve other issues in our painting too. You can follow the course section by section or pick out sections that are relevant to you at the time.

All these topics have been part of my personal development as an artist and many other artists I teach. I hope that you will gain more knowledge that will help you in your art journey. Enjoy!

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Follow a Process for Planning Your Painting Before You Start Painting

A preparation outline that can be adapted for your painting process.

A quick overview of how I like to prepare before any major painting. As you develop as an artist you will develop your own habits. Sometimes good and others not so much. We all need to revisit at our preparation over time as it can make a big difference in the end result.

To Remind Us: Composition Classics

Although this course is not about all the technical issues of painting I thought it would be useful to include a refresher on composition. It is an important topic. This video is adapted from my course Learn To Paint With Impact. If you have seen it or are familiar with the basics of composition you can of course skip this lecture.

How can we confidently establish a landscape painting? This method will save you time and give you a confident start to every landscape painting. Identify masses and values in a subject.

An introduction to this important section. Masses and shapes make up every landscape painting. Learn to see these masses and you can paint almost any landscape with confidence in your own unique style.

Most good landscape paintings fall within four distinct values: lightest light, darkest dark and two mid values. There are also four distinct mass shapes in such a landscape. If you can identify these masses and values at the start it makes it easier for you to develop and refine the painting. Your painting will also have a convincing appearance. This video explains this idea further.

Paint for masses using acrylics in simple flat shapes. Keep four values distinct from each other. This will be the starting point for developing the basic landscape painting in oils.

A full Demonstration to show how you can develop a painting from the four mass shapes.

In Part 1 we start to develop the mass shapes in oil paints. This video shows the sky and mountains. I am using smaller shapes, but still keeping them loose and suggestive rather than showing fine detail. A #6 bristle brush is a good size to use as it prevents me getting too fussy with the shapes. This is all about staying true to the idea of large shapes and distinct values.

In Part 2 we work in the darkest darks and foreground. I make the most of the value contrast between the dark treeline and the sunlit foreground. The color temperature between warm foreground and cooler darks ad interest and the illusion of depth to the painting. Most importantly shapes are still simple and strong.

In Part 3 I continue to develop the foreground. The edges, color temperature and textures are given attention. The essential value contrast between the trees and foreground is emphasised. See how four basic masses and values can produce a strong painting!

I conclude this demo with a few small changes to improve the composition. Then I look at the framed painting and give my views on whether the painting has worked out or not.

How to see and adjust color and value for convincing aerial perspective.

The rules of aerial perspective are explained. Also the difference between sunny days, overcast and how aerial perspective differs between land and sky.

Let's have a look at a practical example of assessing aerial perspective. See how to adjust color temperature and values to create convincing aerial perspective.

Part 2 of this demo on mixing color and adjusting value for convincing aerial perspective.

Paint different trees that are convincing in character.

Paint the tree's character! Trees are an important part of most landscapes. Yet we tend to paint symbols of trees. This lesson seeks to solve this problem by getting us to see trees like artists.

How to see the character of a tree! Trees are important part of landscapes. Unfortunately we often paint symbols of trees without seeing the unique character of the tree. This lesson shows what we need to look for with examples of artists paintings.

Tree Painting Demo: Part 2

The finishing touches to the tree demo followed by a critique of the framed painting.

How do we paint from photos without losing the energy and vitality that comes form plein air painting? These approaches will help you get powerful painting results from your photos.

The problem to solve: How to use photos in the studio without losing the energy and vitality of plein air painting? Often in the studio we can overwork a subject from photo references. This lesson gives you 10 steps to help avoid this common trap.

A recap on how to improve paintings from photos.

Use generous paint application and confident brushwork for a lively painting surface.

How to avoid flat and uninteresting painting surfaces? Use distinct brushstrokes and generous amounts of paint. This section is about getting texture and lively brushwork to enhance the painting surface. Painting in the impressionist tradition is not just about creating an illusion. It is also about using the paint to add texture and interest in its own right.

This is a fun demo to simply show you how brushwork can be used to put down distinct color notes. You will also see how a generous amount of paint can be used. Each brushstroke leave a distinct mark in hue and in texture. Try not to go over the mark a second time to avoid making a flat surface unless necessary to correct an error. Certain areas can be flatter such as shadows provided that that the sunlit portions are kept nice and thick with texture.

People In Landscape

My method for painting figures in a landscape setting.

We look at the most effective approach to painting figures outdoors. What is necessary to get a recognisable figure without overworking the subject. How to see light and use shapes, color and values to achieve this goal.

Often a landscape will benefit with having distant figures, These figures add interest, life and help with the overall story. But there are a few common problems to look out for.

(demo coming soon)

Now I will show you how I paint basic distant figures in a landscape. I will pay close attention to the warnings and tips in the previous lecture to show you how to avoid making those mistakes.

Recognise Light correctly and See Like an Artist

Often we overlook this part of the landscape and focus on some other object like a tree or building. The sky is however the biggest influence on the landscape. This lecture also looks at the most common error artists make when painting the sky.

A look at how getting the sky the incorrect value will make the landscape more difficult to paint.

How to identify colors quickly and mix them with confidence.

Is color mixing simply guesswork? In this lecture we look at how to isolate color notes so that we can mix them confidently.

A short video demo to show how I go about finding color notes by mixing hues.

How to avoid using incorrect shadow colors

This video demo covers a common problem I see when artists paint shadows. Although the value may be correct we must also adjust the color temperature too. With both of these issues correct we will have the correct shadow color.

How to add variety for impact and interest

Patterns and lines attract our eye, but we can fall into the trap making them too uniform and regular. The result is a stilted painting lacking variety. This series of lectures will show you how to be aware of this problem and correct it in good tme.

Let us have a look at a brief demo where we can make decisions to add variety when faced with lines and patterns in a scene.

I conclude this demonstration by looking at other examples of how to add variety in your painting. You can see the completed painting in the resources for this lecture.

To Varnish or Not To Varnish?

I look at different types of varnish and the one I prefer to use. When to varnish and why and a few precautions are discussed.

I show my method for varnishing a small painting. I also discuss how to varnish a large painting easily.

Now we look beyond art techniques. We look at you the artist. You will learn ways to overcome obstacles to creating art.

Many artists struggle to find time for painting. Others want to start but for various reasons do not begin. This section looks at the time issue and ways to get past that block. We then look at making a start to your painting and making it a part of your creative lifestyle.

How to recognise what steals your time. How to free up time and stick to your painting time.

This lecture considers the reasons for creative block. I also have solutions to creative block that I can vouch for. Mostly creative block involves getting over a lack of inspiration. We can usually work through this problem with these tips.

Conclusion

This concludes the course but not your art journey. I hope you enjoy your painting problem solving. Thank you for joining me on this course. Happy painting!

PS: I have started a closed Facebook group for artists enrolled in my courses or workshops. The groups are for more community sharing of tips, painting progress, Q&A sessions. If you are interested check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/paintwithimpact/ and join the group

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Examines various landscape problems and provides solutions, which is standard across art courses
Taught by Malcolm Dewey, who is highly recognized in the field of landscape painting
Teaches skills and techniques that are core for landscape painting
Develops strong foundational knowledge for beginners in landscape painting
Develops more advanced landscape painting skills, which is essential for progression
Covers typical and more advanced landscape painting problems, which provides a comprehensive study

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in How To Solve Painting Problems with these activities:
Review the syllabus
Scan the syllabus, topics, and projects to familiarize yourself with the course.
Browse courses on Landscape Painting
Show steps
Practice brushwork
Try out different brushstrokes and textures on a scrap canvas. Experiment with various brush sizes and shapes.
Browse courses on Brushwork
Show steps
  • Gather your materials: a selection of brushes, a canvas, and paint.
  • Start by practicing basic strokes, such as lines, circles, and squares.
  • Experiment with different brush sizes and shapes.
  • Try blending colors on the canvas.
  • Take your time and enjoy the process.
Review color theory
Take some time to review the basics of color theory, including the color wheel, primary and secondary colors, and complementary colors.
Browse courses on Color Theory
Show steps
  • Read a book or article on color theory.
  • Create a color wheel.
  • Practice mixing different colors.
  • Experiment with complementary colors.
Five other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all eight activities
Watch tutorials on landscape painting
Look for tutorials that cover topics that you're struggling with or that you want to learn more about.
Browse courses on Landscape Painting
Show steps
  • Search for tutorials on YouTube or other online platforms.
  • Choose tutorials that are taught by experienced artists.
  • Follow along with the tutorials and practice the techniques.
  • Don't be afraid to experiment and try different things.
Paint a small landscape
Put what you've learned into practice by painting a small landscape. This will help you solidify your understanding of the concepts and techniques covered in the course.
Browse courses on Landscape Painting
Show steps
  • Choose a reference photo or scene.
  • Sketch the scene onto your canvas.
  • Block in the basic colors.
  • Add details and textures.
  • Step back and assess your work.
Write a blog post about your painting experience
Share your painting experience with others by writing a blog post about it. This will help you reflect on what you've learned and it can also help inspire other students.
Browse courses on Landscape Painting
Show steps
  • Choose a topic for your blog post.
  • Write a draft of your post.
  • Edit and proofread your post.
  • Publish your post on your blog.
  • Promote your post on social media.
Join an online painting forum
Connect with other students and artists online to share your work, get feedback, and learn from others.
Browse courses on Landscape Painting
Show steps
  • Search for online painting forums.
  • Join a forum that interests you.
  • Introduce yourself and share your work.
  • Participate in discussions and ask for feedback.
Find a mentor
Find an experienced artist who can provide you with guidance and support as you develop your painting skills.
Browse courses on Landscape Painting
Show steps
  • Ask your friends, family, or colleagues for recommendations.
  • Search for mentors online.
  • Attend local art events and workshops.
  • Contact artists whose work you admire.
  • Be prepared to offer something in return for your mentor's time.

Career center

Learners who complete How To Solve Painting Problems will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Painter
Painters create original works of art using paint and other media. This course may be useful for aspiring Painters, as it provides practical tips and techniques for developing their artistic skills and creating unique and expressive works of art. The course covers topics such as composition, color theory, and brushwork, which are essential skills for creating successful paintings.
Fine Artist
Fine Artists create original works of art for exhibition or sale. This course may be useful for aspiring Fine Artists, as it provides practical tips and techniques for developing their artistic skills and creating unique and expressive works of art. The course covers topics such as composition, color theory, and brushwork, which are essential skills for creating successful fine art.
Graphic designer
Graphic Designers create visual content for a variety of purposes, such as logos, websites, and marketing materials. This course may be useful for aspiring Graphic Designers, as it provides practical tips and techniques for creating effective and visually appealing graphic designs. The course covers topics such as typography, color theory, and digital design, which are essential skills for creating successful graphic designs.
Commercial Artist
Commercial Artists create visual content for businesses, such as logos, brochures, and advertisements. This course may be useful for aspiring Commercial Artists, as it provides practical tips and techniques for creating effective and visually appealing commercial art. The course covers topics such as branding, typography, and digital design, which are essential skills for creating successful marketing materials.
Web Designer
Web Designers create and maintain websites. This course may be useful for aspiring Web Designers, as it provides practical tips and techniques for creating effective and visually appealing websites. The course covers topics such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which are essential skills for creating successful websites.
Photographer
Photographers create visual content using cameras. They may work in a variety of settings, such as studios, events, and nature. This course may be useful for aspiring Photographers, as it provides practical tips and techniques for capturing beautiful and meaningful images. The course covers topics such as composition, lighting, and digital photography, which are essential skills for creating successful photographs.
Sculptor
Sculptors create three-dimensional works of art using a variety of materials, such as clay, metal, and wood. This course may be useful for aspiring Sculptors, as it provides practical tips and techniques for developing their artistic skills and creating unique and expressive works of art. The course covers topics such as composition, form, and texture, which are essential skills for creating successful sculptures.
Illustrator
Illustrators create visual content for a variety of purposes, such as books, magazines, and websites. This course may be useful for aspiring Illustrators, as it provides practical tips and techniques for creating effective and visually appealing illustrations. The course covers topics such as composition, color theory, and digital illustration, which are essential skills for creating successful illustrations.
Art teacher
Art Teachers instruct students in the principles and techniques of art. They may also teach art history and theory. This course may be useful for aspiring Art Teachers, as it provides practical tips and techniques for teaching art effectively. The course covers topics such as lesson planning, classroom management, and assessment, which are essential skills for creating a positive and productive learning environment.
Teacher
Teachers instruct students in a variety of subjects, such as math, science, and social studies. This course may be useful for aspiring Teachers, as it provides practical tips and techniques for teaching effectively. The course covers topics such as lesson planning, classroom management, and assessment, which are essential skills for creating a positive and productive learning environment.
Design Manager
Design Managers oversee the design and production of various creative projects, such as websites, marketing campaigns, and product packaging. This course may be useful for aspiring Design Managers, as it provides practical tips and techniques for managing design teams and projects effectively. The course covers topics such as project planning, budgeting, and client relations, which are essential skills for success in this role.
Landscape Architect
Landscape Architects design outdoor spaces, such as parks, gardens, and campuses. This course may be useful for aspiring Landscape Architects, as it provides practical tips and techniques for creating beautiful and functional outdoor spaces. The course covers topics such as site planning, grading, and planting design, which are essential skills for creating successful landscapes.
Urban Planner
Urban Planners design and plan the development of cities and towns. This course may be useful for aspiring Urban Planners, as it provides practical tips and techniques for creating livable and sustainable communities. The course covers topics such as land use planning, transportation planning, and environmental planning, which are essential skills for success in this role.
Museum curator
Museum Curators oversee the collections and exhibitions of museums. They may also conduct research and educational programs. This course may be useful for aspiring Museum Curators, as it provides practical tips and techniques for managing museum collections and exhibitions effectively. The course covers topics such as collection management, exhibition design, and public relations, which are essential skills for success in this role.
Art Director
An Art Director is a professional who oversees the visual style and aesthetics of various projects, including advertising campaigns, marketing materials, and websites. This course may be useful for aspiring Art Directors, as it provides practical tips and techniques for solving common painting problems. The course covers topics such as composition, color theory, and brushwork, which are essential skills for creating visually appealing and impactful designs.

Reading list

We've selected 13 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in How To Solve Painting Problems.
Guide to color theory. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to understand and use color in their paintings.
Collection of essays on painting by Richard Schmid. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn from one of the masters of contemporary realism.
Comprehensive guide to drawing and painting landscapes. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to create realistic and beautiful landscapes.
Guide to landscape painting. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to create beautiful and realistic landscapes.
Step-by-step guide to painting landscapes. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to create beautiful and realistic landscapes.
Guide to composition in painting. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to create well-composed and visually appealing paintings.
Step-by-step guide to drawing for beginners. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to draw realistically and expressively.
Guide to understanding and using color and light in painting. It valuable resource for artists who want to improve their realism.
Guide to acrylic painting techniques and projects. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to use acrylic paint effectively.
Describes the technical aspects of oil painting, including what tools and materials to use, how to prepare a canvas, and how to mix and apply paint. It is an accessible overview of the basics of oil painting.
Guide to painting special effects, such as fog, rain, and snow. It valuable resource for artists who want to learn how to create realistic and atmospheric paintings.

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