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Jennifer Young's Lens on Landscape Painting

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I am a painter from Virginia. I am passionate about landscape painting, and this lens is about creating landscape paintings both in the studio and en plein air. My primary medium is oil paint, and I am happy to share tips about oil painting and landscape painting processes here and in my links below. My paintings are inspired by the beauty of the natural world, and I travel frequently in search of new subjects to paint. If you enjoy my lens I do hope you will consider leaving a start rating (at the top of the lens). Feedback is also welcome!

Please feel free to also visit my website to see more paintings, and my blog for  even more of my latest projects, shows, tips, and painting demos.

Paintings of Tuscany and Provence from JenniferYoung.com

Italian landscape paintings of Tuscany, Venice, and Lake Como by Jennifer Young
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Oil painting; Possible solutions to common challenges

I hear so many artists say that they never get started in painting with oils because they are too intimidating. But, like anything else, they just take some practice and some getting used to. I love painting with oils. They are very forgiving; because they stay "open" longer they can be reworked, scraped, and amended more than watercolor and other transparent or water based mediums.

They are rich and luminous when at their best, and they can produce fabulous texture and depth of color. They are, however, quite challenging at the start, so here are some tips to help aspiring oil painters "take the plunge"
  • If you can't stand the smell of turpentine, use odorless mineral spirits (OMS) or Turpenoid Natural to thin and clean up. *Be aware though that while OMS is easier on the nose it is no less toxic for those who are sensitive to turps. In that case your best alternative is to clean up with Turpenoid or some other natural product.
  • To avoid "mud", refrain from mixing too many colors together. Try mixing with your palette knife instead of your brush. This will allow the paint load to sit on the end of the brush and not mush down into the brush toward the ferrules.
  • Avoid the overuse of white. White will lighten values but also cool and dull colors, giving a chalk-like appearance to most colors if overused.
  • Avoid the overuse of black or dark earthtones. Some would say avoid ANY use of black as it is a dead color. But in reality, there is nothing bad about black if used judiciously. However, often there is a tendency to reach for the black (or umber) for anything that requires shading or darker values. This can result in an overly dull, flat looking painting.
  • Avoid over-working back into a wet section. Experiment with laying in your color and leaving it alone as much as possible. Over blending and mushing your paint around on your canvas can lead to "mud".
  • Experiment with other mediums. While absolutely no medium is necessary, it's fun to experiment with different painting mediums to enhance the behavior of your oils. There are a variety of mediums available that can help speed drying time, enhance the fluidity of your brush stroke, and help your paint strokes stay where you put them.
  • Fumes too toxic? Some people experiment with water soluble oil paints. These clean up with water, and tend to dry somewhat faster than regular oils. The cleanup can be a real advantage to those who love oils but are allergic to turps or mineral spirits.

Paintings of France, Italy, and Beyond

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Oil Painting Supplies on Amazon

Oil painting supplies to get you started.
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My galleries of landscape paintings

I love to travel, and I often bring my paints along so that I can record my impressions. Here are some of the paintings I've done as a result.
Paintings of Italy
Paintings of Tuscany, Venice, and the area around Lake Como.
Provence landscape paintings
Paintings of village scenes and the landscape of the Provincial countryside.
Giverny landscape paintings
Scenes of the village and countryside around Giverny, France, and paintings of Monet's garden.
Paintings of the American South
Landscape paintings of Virginia, Key West, and the Carolina and Georgia low countries.
Hanging Art and Caring for Your Art Collection
This is another lens I wrote with tips on how to display and care for your art collection.

What's on my palette?

These are the paint colors I use most often in the studio. *I don't lay all of these colors out all of the time, mind you. For plein air painting, I usually use a condensed version of the list below.
  • Titanium White
  • Cadmium Yellow Light
  • Raw Sienna
  • Indian Yellow (good for sunsets and mixing terra cotta colors)
  • Cadmium Orange
  • Cadmium Red Light
  • Alizarin Crimson
  • Permanent Rose (nice for flowers and sunsets)
  • French Ultramarine Blue or Cobalt Blue (Cobalt is cooler and gives me cleaner greens. French Ultramarine is seductive though.)
  • Sevres Blue or Pthalo Blue
  • Windsor Green or Viridian (*I like to mix my greens, but it's good to have some kind of pre-mixed green en plein air. Windsor green is very intense, so start out using it sparingly.)
  • Sap Green (though you can mix a pretty good sap with Pthalo or Prussian Blue and Indian Yellow).

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Jennifer Young's Links

Jennifer Young; Vibrant Landscapes
Jennifer Young's official website featuring her landscape paintings and prints. The artist's impressions of Provence, Tuscany, and scenes of the American South, plus biographical information and more.
Jennifer's Blog
With my blog I share information about my upcoming projects and shows, and also some of my ideas, inspirations, and techniques. In addition, my blog is a place to post some of my more experimental works, sketches, and works in progress.
Subscribe to my blog feed
Keep up to date with my blog using your favorite feed reader.
Subscribe to my blog by email
Don't have a feed reader? Have my blog updates delivered right to your email!
My Cafe Press store
Shop for Cafe Press products with my landscape paintings on them!

Jennifer Young's CafePress Store

Cards, mugs, mousepads, calendars and other fun stuff featuring Jennifer Young's vibrant landscape paintings of France and Italy.
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Landscape painting links

Here are some useful links to learn more about landscape painting and oil painting.
Plein air painting tips and techniques
Been thinking about doing some plein air painting, but afraid to dive in? Here are some tips I've posted on my blog to help beginners get started.
Landscape painting demos by Jennifer Young
Here are some demos that show my approach to painting the landscape both in the studio and en plein air.
Landscape lessons from Creative Spotlite
A very nice collection of landscape painting lessons, tips, and techniques from a variety of artists.
Wet Canvas Landscape Channel
A vast collection of demos, tips, and articles, plus a great online forum for landscape painting.
Traveling with oil paints
I love travel and I love plein air painting. The two naturally seem to go together! But traveling on the airlines in today's world can be a little tricky, so here's an article I wrote on my blog on how to deal with this.

Small Stuff! Vignettes and miniature paintings from JenniferYoung.com

A selection of small vignettes and miniature paintings by Jennifer Young

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Books about landscape painting

These are some of my favorite books from my growing personal collection
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More art books that inspire me

Not necessarily "how to" books, but great books concerned with painting. Prepare to be inspired!
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Reader Feedback

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jeyoung

Greetings! I'm Jennifer Young and I am passionate about painting and passionate about painting the landscape in particular. I work primarily with oil... more »

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