LANDSCAPE PAINTING: Artists Who Love the Land

What Is a Landscape Painting?

An artist can paint a whole world.
It is made of paint on flat canvas.
This is called a landscape painting.

Trees look full and leafy.
But they are just a few brush strokes.
Lakes look shiny.
Waterfalls look splashy.
Grass looks like it bends in the wind.
Clouds look dark, like rain is coming.

All of this is just paint.
Small dabs of color can make places.
We can almost go there in our minds.
A river winding by hills.
A rocky beach with crashing waves.
A huge canyon, deep and far away.

The Artist Gets to Choose

A landscape artist is not a camera.
He does not paint only what he sees.

If a hill has too many trees,
he can leave some out.
If trees look wrong,
he can move them.
If a riverbank looks too empty,
he can add rocks that are not really there.

The artist also decides what we see.
Should we see each blade of grass?
Or just a smear of green color?

The artist can show the land from above.
Like looking down from an airplane.
Or show it from the ground.
Like lying on a picnic blanket.

Outdoors or Indoors?

First, the artist must choose.
Paint outside on the land?
Or paint inside a studio?

Painting outside lets him watch nature.
He sees the soil, the clouds, the water.
He sees sunlight and shadow change.

Painting inside is slower.
He can move things around.
He can change colors and shapes.

Many artists do both.
They sketch outside.
Then they paint inside their studio.

Painting the Air

Air is part of every landscape too.
We do not often think about it.

An artist must paint air very well.
We should almost feel the sun.
We should almost feel the wind.

There is no paint called "sunshine."
There is no paint called "breeze."
The artist must make it with his brush.

Making Flat Pictures Look Deep

Every landscape has one big problem.
How to make a flat painting look deep.

When done well, it feels magic.
We feel we could walk into the picture.

Here are five "space tricks" artists use:

1. A winding path.
A path or river that winds back
makes the picture feel deep.

2. Changes in size.
Things close to us look bigger.
Things far away look smaller.

3. Overlap.
A rock close to us can hide
part of a big cliff behind it.

4. Changes in clarity.
Far away things look hazy.
Close things look clear and sharp.

5. Diagonal lines.
Land that slants away from us
looks like it goes back into space.

Four Great American Artists

Four American artists used these tricks well:
George Catlin, Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt, and Winslow Homer.

They did not just want to trick our eyes.
They wanted to show how big and grand America is.

Catlin, Moran, and Bierstadt loved the West.
They were pulled there by rivers, mountains, and canyons.
They joined trips into unknown lands.
They painted what they saw.

Homer loved the East instead.
He loved the rocky coast of Maine.

Back then, there was no TV.
Cameras were very new.
These paintings helped Americans
see and love their land.

Today we have TV and cars.
We can travel easily.
But these old paintings still show us
how grand our land is.

About the Artists

George Catlin

George Catlin loved Native Americans since he was a boy.
At age thirty-four, he left his job as a lawyer.
In 1830, he went west.
For six years, he traveled the Missouri River.
He moved from village to village.
He painted chiefs, buffalo hunts, and ceremonies.

Thomas Moran

Thomas Moran was an artist from the East.
He was not tough, but he loved exploring.
He went to Yellowstone in Wyoming.
Two years later, he went to the Grand Canyon.
He made many small sketches there.
Back home, he turned them into huge paintings.
His art helped make Yellowstone
America's first national park in 1872.

Albert Bierstadt

Albert Bierstadt went to California in 1859.
He joined a team after the gold rush.
People back east had only seen small black-and-white photos.
Bierstadt made big, beautiful paintings of California.
He knew people would pay to see them.

Winslow Homer

In 1893, Winslow Homer moved to Maine.
He built a studio by the ocean.
He loved walking the cliffs during storms.
He watched the waves crash on the rocks.
On calm days, he liked the ocean less.
He said it looked like "a duck pond."