This is one topic I struggled with when I was learning about painting, I just did not understand the concept. I wanted to go to the painting and have fun with it. I soon learned that, especially working outside from life, your time is limited. Especially with the sun angles changing the shadows. I had to look for a better way to get things down.

The best way to work the whole painting is to look at those large shapes by blocking the canvas in with those large shapes. Also, getting rid of the white on my canvas. I don’t like to have 30 minutes go by while working outside and have huge white spots. It can be distracting as I am not harmonizing the painting if I have those areas. Once I start to work on the whole painting and the whole canvas, I eventually hone in on some areas I want to focus on and put more detail in. Or, in some areas, I will have much less detail. It is important to have detail in only a few areas while other areas are a supporting role.

“Keep going back for those large shapes until you get to a stage where you know you can hone in on detail and figure out what other things you need to leave loose.“

I just had to learn to work the whole canvas, not just one area or part. If you work from life outdoors, you know what I mean. If you are working from photographs, using too much detail and honing in on only certain areas can be a pitfall. This would mean you are not working the whole canvas or outlining your whole story. You are starting to describe things right away. You have to look at the whole painting, not just parts of it.

I encourage you to work on the whole canvas. At least in the background and foreground. You can sometimes leave the sky if it’s a small area or really light. Sometimes the sky is the lightest part but it depends on how much space the sky takes up. Keep going back for those large shapes until you get to a stage where you know you can hone in on detail and figure out what other things you need to leave loose.

If you’d like to learn more with me, join me through my free webinar, video downloads, or podcast.