 Flowers don't care where they grow! Why do I paint? To express my love for what I see: the sway of grasses, the blaze of flowers, the dance of light on leaves. Painting is my way of advocating for the beauty of nature - a love letter to our natural world and the wildlife that calls it home.
I’m also a gardener at heart. Not the “perfect stripes on the lawn” kind, but the “let’s create a buffet for the bees and a five-star hotel for the birds” kind. There’s something magical about watching a blackbird feast on fallen apples or spotting a ladybird hitching a ride on a daisy. It’s all part of the bigger picture I try to celebrate in my work. But before painting took centre stage, photography played a leading role in my life. For years, I was that person crawling out of bed at 3 or 4 in the morning (yes, willingly!) to catch the golden hour in a garden. There’s nothing quite like those first rays of light - pure magic. And, of course, I’d be back home in time for breakfast, slightly disheveled but utterly inspired. Painting, though, has always been a lifelong love. As a child, I wasn’t exactly enthralled by school lessons unless they involved a paintbrush, a ball, or a good excuse to run around. I loved to run and swim - I might’ve been an athlete if only I didn’t adore art quite so much. My parents, however, saw painting as a hobby (sound familiar?). So, like many of us creative types, I dutifully got a “real” job in business. I won’t lie - it wasn’t all bad. I worked with great people, learned a lot, and even ended up as a magazine publisher. My last hurrah in publishing was at Elle Decoration, which was as fabulous as it sounds. But eventually, I swapped the boardroom for the garden path and took a leap of faith into freelance garden photography. That leap led me to where I am today. Over the past 25 years, I’ve woven together my love of painting, photography, and nature. Now, I get to share everything I’ve learned with others, whether it’s through workshops, books, or conversations about the power of creativity. So, why do I paint? Because it connects me to what I love most - the natural world, its beauty, and its ability to ground us in the here and now. And if, along the way, I can inspire others to pick up a brush or stop to notice the light filtering through the trees, then that’s the cherry on top. 😊
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So .In the vast world of art, the landscape has been a timeless muse for artists. From the serene beauty of Claude Monet's Water Lilies to Turner's atmospheric seascapes, landscapes have been depicted in various styles and forms. Among these lies abstract landscape painting. Abstract landscape painting offers a rich and dynamic exploration of the natural world, inviting us to engage with the essence of nature in a deeply personal and interpretive manner. Through bold experimentation, emotional expression, and a sense of freedom and interpretation, abstract landscape painting celebrates the beauty and wonder of the landscape in all its diverse forms. It celebrates the enduring power of art to evoke emotion, stir the imagination, and connect us to the world around us. There are many ways to approach this style of painting, here is one. This is a photograph of somewhere I walk my dog regularly. It looks depressingly bleak. But the view, leading to a small windswept tree always captures my imagination.  And now for my interpretation ... I gave myself 1 hour to complete this painting. This method stops you from over-thinking and making fussy marks. It keeps the work fresh and spontanious. It doesn't necessarily lead to a finished painting but it's a great way to experiment and stay free.  At the end of the path Spend some time looking at the work and ask yourself...
How does this painting make me feel? How would you interpret this? Try moving away from the obvious and think about your life to explain what's going on in this painting. Enjoy the process. Take in the colours and the perspective, the treatment of the foreground and the sky. Look at how the tree is depicted. I would love to hear your thoughts on this painting and how it affects you! And if you're interested in finding out more, I have just 2 places left on my Abstracting the Landscape Workshop in my lovely studio in Frome, where we will look at other ways to develop your landscapes. It's suitable for beginners and those trying to break free from painting what you see! And learn to Paint What You Feel! Check it out here... 
# Do you think how you want your painting to look like, but it never ends up like that?
# Do your colours get muddy? # Do you fuss over details? # Do you have a passion for painting but get disheartened every time you paint? # Do you go to workshops but end up painting the same way? If any, or all of these are true, you're not alone. I have talked to so many artists who get stuck and can't move their work on. No matter how much they try. They want to paint expressively, more loosely but get stuck in the detail and don't know how to break free. Or, they don't understand why a painting isn't working. There are simple and enjoyable ways to do this. In this video I share some of those secrets...and more...  Have you ever wondered what thoughts flicker through the mind of an artist? Or imagined how to start a painting? Or to know when it's finished! What tools to use and even what colours to choose? Let me show you in this video. I started with a painting that I didn't like. If I don't like a painting whether it's good or bad it never gets to see the light of day. I have to like a painting to show it. I had one in my studio, it was catching the corner of my eye and every time it did, I thought, you know we're not friends, I don't like you. So the other day, I started to paint over it, with my hand, no brushes and just a vague thought of some flowers on the kitchen table. Watch how the story unfolds... Do You Love Seascapes? I do, and when I have been to the coast I always come back and want to paint my experience of it, my random memories of shapes and colour, and the energy of the place. In this video, I explain my thoughts while I'm painting. I hope you enjoy it. And if you do, I'd love to hear from you here This is what I do!  I always advise using plenty of paint, but paint is expensive and you don't want to waste it. I painted the painting above using left over paint from my palette at the end of a session. And this is what I did with it you can see on this video-it's great fun! By the way, I called this painting 'What a Tune!'  The Landscape Listens You love painting don't you? You've always loved it probably since you were a child. But life got in the way. Now, something has changed, you really want to paint. It's now or never. Time is passing ever faster and you really want to paint. But, you find it all confusing. And one thing that floors you is colour-mixing. It should be simple, you managed to choose great colours for your home afterall. But when it comes to painting it starts to get just a little bit tricky! And the more you try the worse it gets, yes, the mud! Your colours end up looking muddy, not the glorious, clear colours you see in your mind. Keddie to the rescue!  Lynn Keddie I can help you. There are some very simple secrets I want to share with you to overcome this problem, and you will be another step closer to achieving your dream. Watch this video. Watch a Painting come to Life Have you ever wondered how a painting comes to life? I get asked this all the time with questions like...
And if you liked this you might like to watch this...
 Henri Matisse said, Differences make paintings exciting. You can have differences in values (lights and darks), in size of shapes, in thickness of lines, in colour and also in MARKS. This video will show you different tools I use to make marks. Click the button below, I hope you enjoy it. Do you have a secret desire to become an artist? Do you think you need to be talented to become a painter? Do you worry that people will laugh at your work? Do you think that you won't be good enough? So you don't even try? If the answer to these questions is yes, then please read on! I have met many people who love to paint, or would love to paint, and want to take their work further but are too scared... 😨Too scared about what others will think about their mad idea, 😨Too scared that their work will suck, 😨Too scared to show their work, 😨Too scared to even start because they are too scared to ask questions in case they are frowned upon. Let me tell you a secret... You don't need talent to paint strong beautiful work! This is what you need... 😂Passion - because passion will keep you going. People love people with passion. I know I do! 🙂Practice - You can't be a concert pianist if you don't practice, regularly. It's the same with painting. You'll get further painting for 1/2 an hour every few days than spending 1 day a month labouring over a piece. And it's more fun. 😀Play - release your inner child. In those few precious minutes when you paint... play, experiment, allow mistakes, better still welcome mistakes! When you look at children painting they are having fun. I loved painting as a child, I remember it so well. And now I play all the time. It's so freeing and your work will be unexpected, different and amazing. 👍Persist - don't give up. Not every day will be successful. But every day you will learn more. And every day will take you another step to your goal. And finally, find a good coach. Not a tutor, a coach. Someone who can stand by you, give you all the secrets to painting strong work and go for it! Because if you have all these, you won't be scared..... 👏👏👏YOU WILL SUCCEED👏👏👏 click the button below to watch my FREE painting video  |
Lynn KeddieLynn is a painter of flowers, landscapes, and emotions. Categories
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