In a recent Art School Live session hosted by Eric Rhoads, artist Kami Mendlik presents a clear, usable method for simplifying landscape painting so it becomes less overwhelming and more reliable. Kami’s approach is not a shortcut to lazy work; it is a disciplined strategy for organizing color, value and shape so paintings have strong “carrying power” from across the room while still resolving into lively paint up close.
Watch this landscape painting demonstration now:
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Landscapes often overwhelm painters with an infinite number of details: leaves, branches, reflected ripples, distant aerial haze, and shifting light. Kami reframes the problem. Instead of trying to replicate every detail, she trains painters to read the scene as an abstract of essential shapes, values and color relationships. Simplification, as she describes it, is a strategy for omitting information in order to strengthen the painting’s underlying structure.
One of Kami’s most practical lessons is the “mother-pool” concept. After squinting to find the average color of a major area, she mixes a large mother-pool color on the palette. From that mother-pool she creates smaller, related mixes—the “baby pools”—that vary in temperature and value. This keeps the overall harmony intact while providing subtle variation that makes the painting read as believable.
Kami emphasizes value decisions early. Using a mid-tone neutral palette helps judge whether lights are lighter and darks are darker than the mid-tone. She often mixes darks slightly thinner and lights thicker (notably titanium white heavy for highlights) to get opacity where needed and transparency in shadow passages.
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Don’t miss your opportunity to create lifetime memories at PACE! The next Plein Air Convention & Expo is May 14-18, 2026 in The Ozarks. All training sessions are indoors on giant, high-def screens, with plein air paint-outs in the afternoons. Beginners and pros feel right at home, so register now to join us!
Kami was an excellent teacher! Thank you!