Winter Landscape by Andrew Tischler

I am inspired by the surrounding landscape in my South Island home. There are such extreme seasonal changes here and it provides the artist with a unique opportunity to paint these variations in light and atmosphere.

This painting – “The Winter Landscape” contains an extreme depth dynamic provided by low-lying mist, simplifying the background. The subtle shifts in tones and hues from the sky to the mid-ground are a challenge to convey.

The background is contrasted against the sharpness of the crisp details in the monumental pine trees and the branches of the willow. Sheep graze in the foreground, searching for any morsels not touched by the frost, inviting the viewer into this quaint and gentle scene. Despite the fact that New Zealand is half the world away for most people, I believe this landscape has universal appeal.

In this Winter landscape painting tutorial, I break the entire process down into sections, and we’ll talk about many of my oil painting techniques for creating a realistic scene.

We start at the very beginning with the En Plein Air sketch – working from life painting in the outdoors. I will show you the tools I use when working outside, and some key strategies for success when painting En Plein Air.

You’ll witness the sketching of the scene onto a large canvas in the studio, creating a Grisaille before working up the image in paint. I start off loose and then build up my layers strategically before finally adding those intricate details.