Landscapes in Oil: A Contemporary Guide to Realistic Painting in the Classical Tradition

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From the Publisher

Location of the Light Source

The location of the light source will make a definite compositional statement, whether it’s inside or outside the picture plane. The objects or surfaces the light is illuminating are also compositional elements. For example, if the light shines onto a tree trunk and it glows, then the trunk becomes the focal point. If the light shines through the leaves but does not hit the trunk, the leaves become a focal point. In my painting Buddha Tree, I decided to develop a more complex painting that includes multiple focal points.

Ken Salaz, Buddha Tree, 2017, oil on linen, 16 x 20 inches (40.64 x 50.8 cm). Courtesy of Trees Place Gallery, Orleans, Massachusetts.

Exercise: Paint the same scene in different lighting Cloudy and overcast Sunny, bright midday sun Sunrise Sunset In the middle of winter

Light at Different Times of Day

As an artist depicting light quality, you have to become attuned to the lighting conditions of the different times of the day. When a viewer looks at your painting, it needs to be clear what time of day is being depicted.

Ken Salaz, View of NYC from Dobbs Ferry (plein air), 2015, oil on linen, 6 x 9 inches (15.24 x 22.86 cm). Collection of Amy and Howard Rehs.

To deepen my understanding of how light quality affects a painting, I decided to paint the same landscape in plein air at different times of day and under different lighting conditions.

Ken Salaz, View of NYC from Dobbs Ferry II (plein air), 2015, oil on linen, 6 x 9 inches (15.24 x 22.86 cm). Courtesy of Rehs Contemporary Galleries, NYC.

Comparing my three paintings of the same view of New York City from the Hudson River village of Dobbs Ferry, you can see just how much the light affects the overall painting. Conveying a specific time of day adds an authenticity that is integral to the painting’s illusion.

Ken Salaz, Sunset Looking South to NYC (plein air), 2015, oil on linen, 12 1⁄8 x 15 3⁄8 inches (32.8 x 39.05 cm). Courtesy of Rehs Contemporary Galleries, NYC.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Monacelli Studio (March 19, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1580935060
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1580935067
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.3 x 0.88 x 11.2 inches