Painting Landscapes - by Alison C Board (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Discover a fresh, creative, mixed-media approach to painting the landscapes you love.

An inspiring, innovative and practical guide for artists wanting to explore the profound connection between creativity and the natural world.

Author and expert tutor Alison C. Board invites readers to slow down, observe and deeply connect with their landscape subject - whether it's a much-loved vacation spot, a place of historical interest, or a place of profound personal significance. No matter if you're stepping outside with your sketchbook or working from reference images at home, Painting Landscapes offers an inclusive, adaptable approach to making art that feels personal and meaningful.

Inside this treasure trove of inspiring ideas and practical techniques you will:

• Take inspiration: Explore the emotional and sensory impact of natural settings; tap into your connection with the landscape and make your initial sketches
• Learn painting fundamentals: Master the essential building blocks of landscape painting, from appreciating the color palette of nature to making innovative composition choices, and gaining an understanding of tone
• Practice elements of the landscape: Break down the natural world into 24 manageable creative exercises, including dramatic skies, wild weather and depictions of water
• Think creatively: Step beyond realism and embrace personal expression. This section encourages playful exploration with mixed media, including maps and collage, abstraction and storytelling
• Solve problems: Learn how to troubleshoot common challenges while embracing the chaos: learn how to make your materials work for you, how to work from an overcomplicated reference, or how to give your painting character. Packed with practical advice to help you move forward at any stage
• Get painting: Apply everything you've learned to five landscape-painting projects that each offer two different outcomes - perfect for tailoring your approach and experimenting with techniques

Whether you're discovering landscape painting for the first time or returning to it with fresh eyes, Painting Landscapes is the ultimate creative companion on your artistic journey. Thoughtfully written and richly informative, it empowers readers to engage with nature, memory and imagination, all through the simple, transformative act of painting.

About the Author

Alison C. Board has always had a creative career. Having originally trained to be a ballet teacher, she changed her subject to fine art and spent fifteen years managing and subsequently owning a contemporary gallery and arts centre in the south west of the UK where she also taught both the adult and children's courses. In 2009 she gave it up to pursue her ambition of studying for a degree in Fine Art at the Arts University in Bournemouth and graduated in 2013 with First Class Honours, adding to this with education qualifications in Distance Learning.
Alison's ever-growing portfolio includes regular demonstrations, workshops and reaching people across the world through her online presence. Alison also runs a range of workshops, courses and painting weekends from her studio plus being appointed by Arts University Bournemouth as a Visiting Tutor specialising in Art, Design and Creative Studies.
When Alison isn't teaching, she can be found sketching and photographing with her husband Richard and her ever growing menagerie of animals, surrounded by the beautiful Dorset landscape. She is inspired by her countryside home and her family history, as well as music, film, theatre, and creative writing.
Visit Alison's website: www.learningtopaint.co.uk

Find her on Instagram: aliboardartist
Facebook: AliBoardArtist
YouTube: AlisonCBoard