Richard Robinson, Golden Valley, acrylic on canvas, 13 x 15" (33 x 38 cm)

When I first clapped eyes upon this stunning scene in the Rees Valley of New Zealand I was struck by the strong color contrast of yellow/orange and blue. Since that was the first thing that I loved, that’s what I concentrated on. In fact I went further and exaggerated the color differences, making the blues bluer and the yellows more orange. Spending the time to initially figure out what it is that you love most about a scene will pay off in the end, because suddenly you have an aesthetic goal to aim for rather than just trying to copy what it is that you’re seeing. Suddenly you become the conductor of the orchestra!

Visual concept: Spotlit foreground.

Here is a brief list of some examples of visual concepts:
• Interesting shapes
• Strong color
• Contrasting textures
• Quiet and simple
• Intricate complexity
• Atmosphere
• Mood
• Evening light
• Weather effects
• Light effects
• Strong horizontal vs verticals
• Light shape amongst dark
• Dark shape amongst light
• Lyrical movement

Visual concept: Fluid brushwork.

Note that they are concepts, not things. For example, it’s not a “beautiful tree” or “big clouds.” A good painter begins with a strong visual concept to base a painting on. The visual concept is usually suggested by the subject itself, especially in plein air painting, but you can just as easily apply your own visual concept to the subject or even begin with a visual concept in mind and find a subject to suit your idea. More often than not the visual concept will be the very thing that you love most about the scene, the thing that compels you to paint it, like the dramatic lighting or the strong color or interesting shapes. The important thing is to clearly understand this motivation at the very beginning and write it down so you keep it in mind through the entire painting process.

Visual concept: Dark third foreground.

Demonstrated above and below are a few examples of some of my own paintings that began with a strong visual concept.

Rees Valley, watercolor and gouache

Eric Hillmer
Nice one Eric. Good drawing. I’d like to see larger brushwork in the foreground and less gray. Hard to get that back in watercolor, I know. Good to see you playing with the color in the sky. It looks good. You need some color variety in the foreground tree and trunk because they’re looking a bit flat. Also look at where the grasses should be reflecting in the water. A little more detail in the central plain and a few subtle shadows of bushes will help that somewhat flat area a little.

Golden Valley, demo painting study 

Marie-France L’Ecuyer
Very rich work, Marie. A pleasure to look at with so much going on. A landscape made from paint! Beautiful. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Golden Valley

HKi Kujtim Haderxhanaj
Hi Kujtim, great effort here. You’ve certainly got a dramatic color contrast between warms and cools, and it’s good to see all your expressive brushstrokes. Nice. Two things you could look at to improve this: Firstly the greens in the mountain are standing out too much. They need to be subdued with blue to push them away into the distance. The same applies to the greens and oranges you have on the riverbed close to the mountains. That’s actually a few kilometers away so those colors need to be subdued with a blue gray to avoid them jumping forward. Keep it up!

Bright valley, acrylic with oil glazing on canvas, 15½ x 19½" (40 x 50 cm)

Elena Sokolova
Great work Elena. I’ve got nothing to add. Nicely done.

Golden Valley

Nancy Newton
Good job Nancy. Great color, drawing and brushwork. Your little tree looks a bit odd like it’s made from fence posts, but then, so does mine!

Summer valley

Lindsay Shaw
Great work Lindsay. Strong color and contrast. This is a decent drawing, though I’d like a little more info in the distant mountains seeing as that’s where we’re leading the eye too. The purple and gray-green combo isn’t working so well, mainly because the gray-green is darker than the purple. It should be lighter since it’s actually the sunlit tops of the foliage. Lovely, interesting impasto foreground. The log needs a reflection where it touches the water. Good stuff!