Acrylic Painting Tutorial For Beginners

In this acrylic painting tutorial for beginners we take a step by step look at how to create a landscape with depth and atmosphere. This tutorial is a painting project from the Learn To Paint Club. You can get the full hour plus long video of this project when you take the $1 trial membership to the Learn To Paint Club.

The subject we will paint in this acrylic painting tutorial is of the Glass House Mountains in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland.

In the first step above you can see that I have started my basic drawing. This is step one of the Moore Method of Painting where our goal is just to draw in the big shapes and place them correctly. Above you can see I have used a mix of Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson to mix a dark to draw with.

I continue to develop the drawing but note that I am not trying to draw the scene in. This is really about establishing the half dozen or so big shapes and helping them find their place in the composition. I made the distant hills a little larger as they were too small in the photo.

Now above I have moved on to step two in the Moore Method of Painting. Now I am establishing the value relationships between the middle distance and the foreground. The mountains are painted in with a grey down blue mix. As the objects get closer they become darker. In our Colour Mixing Course we cover values in great detail.

The foreground is blocked in with a warmer earthier tone. I simply added more Alizarin Crimson and Yellow Ochre to the blue grey mix that I had been using. You can see the depth in the painting already starting to become established as the values relationships are working.

I use my darkest dark on the tree and establish its shape. For the foliage I used a large flat brush and pushed it up through the dark mix so the hairs opened up. Then I scrubbed the brush across the sky causing a somewhat random pattern yet still in the shape of the gum tree.

Now the exciting part. A mix of Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Yellow give us a bright green. I toned it back with a little Alizarin Crimson and Yellow Ochre as I wanted to first paint in a midtone green.

In order to create the effect of bright sunlight streaming in from the left I have gone to almost pure Cadmium Yellow and I am highlighting sections of the grass. Notice I have also highlight the middle distance trees using a greyed down version of the same greens.

Step three of the Moore Method of Painting is all about highlights, details and finishing touches. You can see that I have been busy with the main tree, and painting in little tufts of grass catching the light.

A few more finishing touches and we are done. A great little landscape painting to try at all levels even if you are a beginner.

Want to watch the full video of this painting project? You can when you take the $1 Trial membership to the Learn To Paint Club:

Watch The Full Length Video for $1

The Learn to Paint Club gives you access to new projects like this one each month. It is ideal for those learning to paint in oils or acrylics and gives you a range of new painting projects to try at home each month.