From the Artist: The painting 'Blue Lake' is oil on canvas board, 16 x 20 inches, and was painted using Thalo Blue and Titanium White only, in a wet-on-wet process.
From the Painting Guide: I think this is a lyrical scene, with misty mountains reminiscent of the work of the German romantic landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774--1840). It has serenity, created by the monochrome technique and the sweeping landscape.
Things to consider:
- Composition: The painting possibly lacks passion, something that can connect the audience emotionally and that will make them want to look at it again and again. Great landscape paintings tell a story, not necessarily the one the artist thought they painted, but what the viewer creates for themself as they look at it. Consider what a bird flying across or a boat on the lake slightly hidden by the morning mist would do to the scene. The positioning of the three trees pulls the eye away from the centre of the painting; something in the middle would draw the eye back in again.
- Technical: The tone of the most distant mountain should be lighter than the foreground mountains in terms of perspective. The further away things get, the lighter they become and more indistinguishable from the horizon.
(Take a look at a reworked version of this painting.)