© Bernard Victor 2003, acrylic From the Artist: "This is one of my first acrylic paintings. I have been painting for about 18 months. After initial unsuccessful atempts at watercolour, I went over to pastels. However I was advised to try acrylics, and this was one of my early attempts. I have now moved on to oils, and I feel I am now painting much better than these early attempts."

From the Painting Guide: I'm delighted to hear that you've tried various mediums, as they've each got their advantages and disadvantages and it's only through hands-on experience that you truly know whether you like something or not (theory only takes one so far, at some stage you have to get your hands dirty). Beginners often start with watercolours as these have the reputation as being 'easy', which isn't the case, except from a basic technical point of view as they mix with water and are easy to clean up. Watercolour is a very unforgiving medium as it's hard to correct or hide mistakes.

In theory the composition of this painting cuts the canvas in half -- the top of the focus of the painting (the buildings) is at the centre, which is something one's supposed to avoid. But note how the trees cutting across this line counteracts this. Now take a look at the diagonal line at the foreground and the diagonal of the trees as they decrease in height, create a feeling of depth in a painting that has two large areas of relatively flat colour, the blue of the sky and the yellow field. Hold up your hand to block off the foreground so you see only the yellow field and you'll see how the feeling of the landscape changes.