Art & Decor Trends

Best Techniques for Painting Autumn

Fall is considered the best season to go out and immerse yourself in nature and paint. Here are some helpful tips for you to capture the essence of autumn:

1. Color contrast is important in Fall scenes. The Contrast will make the autumn colors intense and alive. When using color perception, the distant parts of a landscape assume a less vibrant color than the objects in the foreground. Distant objects appear hazy or take on a grayish-white tone.
2. The use of cooler colors – blues, purples, grays and violets will provide the strong contrast that the warmer Maple leaf color need to pop out from the canvas.
3. Balance your palette with the warm colors – reds, oranges and yellows and their complements – greens, blues and purples. These complements are used in your color mixing to warm or cool your colors. Start with pure, more vibrant colors in the foreground and slowly add softer, more muted colors as the objects recede into the distance.
4. The sun at this time of year is not as strong and emits less light, resulting in an overall coolness in the landscape scene. Clouds and darker days will add somber to the landscape achieved with violets and browns.
5. Because of the lack of light there is less of a contrast between lights and shadows. It is harder now to find those elusive lights and shadows. It’s the most challenging aspect of the landscape especially if you are trying to paint black and white scenes.
6. As weather changes clouds can range from clear to even brown as a storm is approaching, it all depends on the scene that you are trying to portray.
7. Although the trees and leaves become more intense in autumn, the ground looses its vibrant colors. Grass dries up and takes on yellow and brown colors. Leaves that have fallen quickly loose their color as they hit the ground.
   Important elements of autumn are the textures, the dried up grass, branches and the roughness of the bark with shining berries. You need to adapt your strokes to be loose and bold in order to create the right feel.
8. Take part in seasonal events and get your autumn spirit in gear. Most importantly, take advantage of these beautiful autumn days and paint.

Checkout the OverstockArt.com Fall Gallery Scenes for inspiration.