Landscape Drawing

No colour so how would you capture a landscape? When creating a landscape drawing this is the challenge you are faced with.

Tips

Firstly choose a view that inspires you - perhaps you are sat in front of it or working from sketches and photographs.

• spend several moments really looking
• consider the parts you wish to keep
• what speaks to you - what will you leave out or simplify?
• squint and consider the darkest tones and shadows through to the lightest ones - capture these and your drawing will look 3D - it will have depth
• in the distance use simple marks
• in the foreground put in some detail... it may be grasses, plants or a fence. Make sure there is not so much information to 'read' that it stops the eye travelling past the foreground and into the drawing
• mid-distance needs enough detail to be interesting. Remember too much and the eye may be stopped travelling to the furthest distance

Why Draw the Landscape?

Drawings are fresh and uncluttered. There is an immediacy about them. The changes in weather can be captured. The mood and feel of a place recorded. The movement of foliage indicated.

You have an opportunity to work out doors?

Secure some large paper to a board and using charcoal do some quick ten minute drawings. The results will be fascinating. Enough of the image captured but no time to be fussy.

Landscape drawing can be built from sketches