Landscape Painting Demo: Designing for Balance

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View four stages of a pastel landscape painting demo done en plein air, including the color Tony Allain chooses to indicate a brightly lit area in the background.

Landscape Painting Demo: Designing for Balance

By Tony Allain

View of the scene for Tony's plein air painting
View of the scene for Tony’s plein air painting

Landscape Painting Demo, Step 1:

I quickly sketch in the main design using a semi-hard charcoal stick on a piece of sepia Sennelier pastel card. The charcoal is a good base to pitch the darkest value of the painting.

Initial sketch for the landscape painting demo

Step 2:

Working from dark to light, I block in the passing rain clouds using blue-gray pastels in a range of values. I add patches of clear blue sky as they appear through the storm clouds. A hint of rose pink adds some warmth to this passage. The low late-afternoon glow of the setting sun finishes off the sky area.

Painting a sky with pastels

Step 3:

At this point, I ‘brush’ in the foreground vegetation and indicate the distant field using various greens and earth colors. A strong foreground balances the whole painting and adds a good lead-in.

Landscape painting demo
Step 3

Final Step:

I now add detail to the farmhouse, and create texture and warmth in the grasses in the immediate foreground. Using more blue grays, I also put in the road.

To complete the scene, I add the puddle of water on the pavement and use lime green to indicate the brightly lit areas of the pasture in the distance for “Passing Rain on Braco Road.”

Tony Allain, "Passing Rain on Braco Road," pastel, 12 x 16 in.
Tony Allain, “Passing Rain on Braco Road,” pastel, 12 x 16 in.

Additional Paintings:

Tony Allain, "Achnambeithach, Glencoe, Scotland," 2020, pastel, 20 x 26 in., private collection, studio from plein air studies
Tony Allain, “Achnambeithach, Glencoe, Scotland,” 2020, pastel, 20 x 26 in., private collection, studio from plein air studies
Tony Allain, "Gondola Pool," 2018, pastel, 8 x 24 in., private collection, studio from plein air sketches
Tony Allain, “Gondola Pool,” 2018, pastel, 8 x 24 in., private collection, studio from plein air sketches

Connect with the artist at www.tonyallainfineart.com.


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