Painting A Backlit Landscape Step By Step

Painting a backlit landscape can be a challenge. In this step-by-step blog post I break down for you how I painted this scene of a backlit landscape in Kenilworth.

This painting is from an advanced painting project we recently released on the Learn To Paint Academy. If you want access to the course then use this link for a special blog only discount coupon – Click Here

What Is A Backlit Painting?

Before we start it is important that we understand what is a backlit painting. This is to do with the source of light and the direction it is coming from. The light source and direction will have a direct impact on the look and feel of the painting.

A backlit painting then is one in which the light is coming from behind the main elements within the painting. Usually these elements are vertical plains within the landscape.

The light coming from behind these elements causes the elements themselves to be in shadow and often creating a silhouette look. Careful though … it is easy to assume that the shadow side of these elements as they are in silhouette should be painted in black.

Often the light itself will appear brighter than what you might normally observe in a landscape. For a few reason … firstly in a backlit scene you are usually looking into the light so this has an obvious effect on your perception of the relative brightness.

The second reason though , which is especially true with a painting, is the light looks brighter when it is contrast against a strong dark.

So our first key to painting effective back lighting is to ensure that our darks are dark enough to make our lights appear lighter and brighter.

Understanding The Values In A Backlit Painting

Before I began the painting I wanted to make sure that I had a good understanding of the underlying values structure of the painting.

I used a photo editor to turn the colour reference photo into a gray scale. I’m glad I did because it would have been easy to assume that the darkest value in the painting was in the trunks of the three main trees.

On closer inspection it appears that the mass of the middle distance tree is a slightly darker value. This will be important to keep in mind as I block in the painting as that is when I set up the values in the painting.

Notice the foliage in the distant trees how much lighter they are. Also note that the lightest value is the light bending around the middle tree (of the three main trees). This is where we want to get our light to pop the most in the painting. Observe how much lighter that area of the sky is compared to the sky in the open area from the middle to the right of the photo.

This careful observation of the values will help you better understand how to paint this great scene. It is worth the few minutes before you start.

We are going to use the Moore Method of Painting for this painting. If you are not sure what the Moore Method is then – Click Here

Step 1 – Drawing The Big Shapes

The first step in the Moore Method of Painting as always is to place the big shapes in the right location on the canvas.

Note – In the video course which can be found at the Learn To Paint Academy I go into a detailed explanation of how I am cropping this photo to suit our painting surface. Please refer to it for more information.

As you can see above I place the big shapes in the right place on the canvas.

I’ve used Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson to mix a dark muddy colour for my drawing. Then with a small flat brush I thin the paint down into a runny ink like consistency. This is key when doing your drawing as you want the drawing to be thin paint.

As you can see in the picture above I have started to block in the main trees and their shadows just to get a sense of how the backlit effect will look in this painting. The canvas was stained before I started with a yellow ochre which is starting the warm tone of the sun behind the shadowed trees.

After doing the drawing I stand back and look. I want to make sure I have my big shapes in the right place, and the right size, and that all the big shapes relate to each other.

Step 2 – Block In

Now we start our block in which is a critical component of this particular painting.

The major key in the block in step is to set up our values pattern. Each of the big shapes, or masses, within the painting will take on a value. So we want to ensure we establish the right values pattern.

I start blocking in first with the darkest darks in the middle distance tree. This marked with a B on the painting and palette. It is essentially a dark green mix. At this early stage I don’t want to over state the block in so I keep the paint thin and just scrub it in.

The distant row of trees and into the distant mountain is the section marked with an A. As we are going back in depth and we want to create more atmosphere we use less yellow in the mix.

What we are left with is a mauve colour which is slightly darker in the trees and then lightened off for the hills.

As I have most of my darks placed I decide to push in some of the lighter tones into the foreground grasses. I have used a mix of pthalo green, cadmium yellow light and yellow ochre mixed with some titanium white to get the green. The mix is a middle value yet it looks lighter in contrast to the darks.

Putting these lighter tones in now helps me to check if I am on the right track or not.

Now it is time to continue with the lighter values by putting the lights in. Remember that your sky is usually your lightest value overall in a landscape painting.

There are essentially two different mixes for the sky. The first is the Ultramarine Blue with Titanium White. More blue in the mix higher up in the sky, and then lightening off as we come closer to the horizon.

Cutting across the sky in sections though is the clouds which I have represented with the second mix of Yellow Ochre and Titanium White.

Where the sky is appearing between the trees there is more Titanium White in the mix.

Step 3 – Details, Highlights & Finishing Touches

We now move into the process of starting to add details. We don’t want to put in too many as the idea here is to keep the painting loose, fresh and impressionistic … but we do need some details to tell the story. Up until now it has all been blocking in big masses.

As you can see in the photo above I am strengthening the tree trunks in colour while maintaining the value established. There are some details starting to appear in the trunks.

Look closely and you will see I have used the script liner brush and laid in thinner tree trunks and branches into the general mass of middle distance trees.

I continue to work on the details in the main tree trunks, the masses of the middle distance trees and now into the foreground grasses adding more variety.

Plus I have added more details in the trees on the right hand side and added in trunks and branches. These trees are catching more of the setting light so I want to emphasise this.

By this stage we are getting close to the finish so usually I am working around all areas of the painting to make sure everything works well in relation to everything else.

A big focus has been on maintaining the values structure set up in the earlier stages of blocking in. I am happy for the most part that I have achieved this.

One final thing was I mixed an even lighter and brighter sky tone and just painted it around the middle trunk of the three main tree trunks.

I am happy with the result and feel that I have achieved an even more dramatic lighting effect than the photo itself. For a demonstration painting on painting a backlit landscape I am happy enough with it.

Lessons Learnt On Painting A Backlit Landscape

So what did I learn from painting this backlit landscape? Here are some of the key points that you will want to keep in mind:

• Analyse the painting before you paint it by converting it to black and white first. This will help you understand the values structure and help you to plan your values when you start painting.
• Your initial observation of the darkest dark may not be accurate so study it closely
• Once you have your values blocked in make sure that any additional paint laid down is in keeping with the underlying values.
• Place your lightest light next to your darks. In this painting the lightest light is right behind and bending around the middle tree. This gives the light an even brighter appearance.
• A backlit painting may not require too much detail unless you are going for hyper realism. The dark passages will not have a lot of details, and the lights may be too washed out for there to be much detail.
• The darks do require some details but not too many. Just enough to stop them looking like a solid block.
• Have fun when you are painting

Here is how the finished painting looks in a frame:

Well I hope you have enjoyed this backlit landscape painting step by step explanation.

Please leave your comments and questions in the comments section below. Let us know what your one takeaway is

This painting is from an advanced painting project we recently released on the Learn To Paint Academy. If you want access to the course then use this link for a special blog only discount coupon – Click Here