4 Landscape Principles for All Your Landscape Paintings (2024)

Whether you're new to watercolor or just new to landscapes, I have 4 general rules or principles to help you creating a beautiful piece.

Related: How to Paint a Mountain Lake Landscape

It doesn't matter if I'm painting a mountain, desert, jungle, or beach. I always apply these 4 rules (and a 5th bonus!) to get the beautiful, balanced piece I envision.

The 4 landscape principles

  1. Visualize and make note of the main elements with light sketches
  2. Tone and Values: Think about shadows, mid tones, highlights to get depth. Work backwards—light to dark.
  3. Consider composition so that it feels expansive.
  4. Add the right amount of detail for the emotion.
  5. Bonus: Think about balance with the elements and create a zig zag pattern of varying heights.

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Mountain Lake Landscape
The Complete Beginner's Guide to Watercolor
Understanding Color Theory
Wet-on-Wet Technique
How to Set Up a Watercolor Palette
10 Tips to Improve Your Watercolor

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4 Landscape Principles for All Your Landscape Paintings (2024)
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