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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...
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 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... 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...
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   The Landscape Listens Do you dream of being an artist? If you're reading this, I expect the answer to that is yes. I've been reading 'The Artists Way' by Julia Cameron and in it she talks about The Shadow Artist. That resonated with me right away. The Shadow Artist is the child who loved to paint, or draw, played a musical instrument, wrote poems or loved to dance. But their well-meaning (or otherwise) parents encouraged them to pursue a 'worthwhile' career and keep their artistic pursuits as a hobby. Was this you? It was me. I really loved painting as a child. I was slow at everything else, not because I couldn't do it, writing or reading etc. It was because I was only excited by drawing and painting. My teachers really encouraged me at junior school. But when I went to my Secondary School, (I was shoe-horned in by my well-meaning father who was an eminent scientist). Art was frowned upon. This school specialised in science! I was not interested in what they wanted to teach me. Except I could draw up the experiments really well and my maps looked pretty cool. Fast forward 20 years-5 years as a business analyst and 15 as a magazine publisher-I jacked it all in and became an Editorial Photographer. Yep, just like that! I loved gardens and plants so that's what I did. I was back on the path I wanted to follow! Then, I started to paint seriously again (I always dabbled, don't we all?) At first joining a local group and using watercolours. Then I dipped my brushes in oils and the world took off. I started to go on courses run by artists; The St Ives School of Painting with Liz Hough and Alice Mumford, The Heatherley School of Fine Art, The Mall Galleries and The RWA. And courses tutored by Louise Balaam and another by Sarah Spencer. I was serious about learning as much as I could, I had years of catching up to do! They were all great fun but I discovered that they all taught their method and style of painting. There were no elementary details. You were expected to understand colour mixing and the rest... Over that time I painted on my kitchen table then moved out to the garage, which was far too cold, so I took over a small box room in the house. Then we moved and I lost my little space. My husband, Joe suggested I look for a studio. I found one in our new home town, Frome and have been there ever since. I love closing the door and messing around with paint. But my efforts were often hit-and-miss. Some paintings appeared without seemingly much input from me and I was very pleased with them, selling them quickly. Others I laboured over for days. I came to realise that when i painted from my subconscious, intuitively, from my soul my paintings sang to me like larks. And over time I managed to reach this space more often. Why? Well I think it boils down to two reasons:
There is a Japanese word Shuhari shu (守) means traditional wisdom and techniques. To Master. ha (破) means breaking with tradition, to find new approaches. To Experiment. ri (離) means transcendence where all moves are natural becoming at one with spirit alone. Paint what you feel. We don't have a word that explains this in English. But this is what I was doing;
SHUHARI SO WHAT IS THE SHU IN SHUHARI? There are several key elements to make a strong painting:
AND THE HA? Practice, practice, practice. I find that people who come on my workshops expect some kind of instant transformation. A concert pianist practices everyday for years. Why should painting be any different? It's not a talent it's really something that you can learn. Some people just have a head start. If you practice 1/2 an hour a day 3 or 4 times a week will get much better than if you labour for hours once a month. And get hold of those secrets that all these tutors keep to themselves. How? Ask me. I gladly share all the goodies that I've learnt, so that you don't have to go through the expense, frustration and time that I did. I'm no longer a Shadow Artist. Are you? If you want to come out of the shadows, take a look at my Free video, in it I share some of the secrets...
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Lynn KeddieLynn is a painter of flowers, landscapes, and emotions. Categories
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