Improving painting skills by doing realistic landscape art
I’ve always been a huge admirer of art. Since I was 5, I doodled cartoon characters on the walls (for which I was appropriately punished) and let my imagination run wild. Despite being terrible at it, I had fun
That period of fun didn’t last very long as I grew up and got more involved in the world of art. Seeing other people’s creation made me realize that, although I was having fun, I was MILES behind everyone else in terms of skill. Rather than let that moment demotivate me, I pushed onwards with the goal of getting better at painting.
Coming from a lower middle class family, taking art classes wasn’t an option. I learned what I could from my dad (who also has a passion for art) and with what little resources I had. Last year I invested in a digital art tablet, that’ll allow me an art medium to try pretty much everything.
As obvious from my first attempt… I was terrible. Though this was a simple pen and paper, I couldn’t get my grip on it at first. Learning how to shade, what colors to use, where the light will hit from, perspective etc. Many challenges I had to tackle, but I slowly started to get a grip of the new format. I attempted a mountain painting, Bob Ross style!
This may look great at first glance, but upon further observation it’s average at best. Lots of things that still needed improvement but I could see a huge amount progress being made.
Next up I made a space art, or more specifically, what space feels like and what it means to me. This one is something I’m quite proud of. No way does this look realistic, but it captures my emotions perfectly
Last week, when the task for SMART goals was provided, I thought of it as a perfect opportunity to get better at landscape art. Thinking long and hard on what scenery to choose, I opted for an ocean view. When I was living in Saudi Arabia, we’d often go for Umrah, and just 1–2 hours from Makkah was Jeddah, a city besides the red sea. We’d always visit it after completing Umrah and enjoy the sounds seagulls and of the gentle waves hitting wet sand. The smell of the salty water and humidity, I have a longing for the sea, as it brings a sense of adventure! (and makes me feel like a pirate). I pulled up loads of references and took inspiration from other artist’s method of painting. Undecisive on which time of the day to choose, I thought to myself, “why not both?” and the final product came out a something like this. :)
