The other day, I opened my Landscape Painting Masterclass for enrollment. This isn’t just about learning how to see and capture the beauty of the landscape. It’s also about learning how to see the beauty in everything.
Most people go through life naive to the beauty around them. But, once you learn how to see the world as an artist, everything becomes interesting and beautiful in its own way.
I’ll give you an example.
I was sitting in traffic last night under an overpass. It was a typical mundane experience of day-to-day life. But, instead of sitting there bored and waiting for time to pass, I looked around and observed my surroundings on a deeper level and without judgment, as an artist should. What caught my eye was a wonderful dance of color on the road and concrete barriers. It had been raining that day and the wet surfaces were reflecting all kinds of red, yellow, white, and green colors from the cars and traffic lights. It was a pleasant sight, especially amongst the dark, urban surroundings. It reminded me of Joseph Zbukvic’s watercolors featuring wet street scenes with vivid reds amongst a sea of grays, like this one:
This simple act of observing and noticing your surroundings on a deeper level and without judgment is a key part of being an artist. Not only will it make your art better and more honest, but it will also enrich your experiences in life. You’ll start to notice beautiful and interesting details that eluded you before and mundane experiences might become more pleasant or even enjoyable.
Try it yourself the next time you find yourself bored trying to pass the time. Look around. What interesting patterns, colors, shapes, forms, or relationships can you see? If you’re struggling, try to see the world as basic artistic elements rather than as what they represent. Instead of seeing a tree as a tree, see it as an interesting arrangement of shapes, colors, lines, and contours.
Anyway, you can join my Landscape Painting Masterclass here if interested. Enrollment is open for the next few days.
Happy painting!
Dan Scott
drawpaintacademy.com
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