Reference Photos for Painting Landscapes

Artist easel with canvas in front of a hill covered with wildflowers and people. — Melany Rizo/Pexels

There’s something about a spectacular landscape, whether it's a barren semi-desert scene or rolling green pastures, that makes artists' fingers itch to capture its essence on canvas.

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Neist Point Lighthouse

Neist Point Lighthouse is the most westerly point on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It sits above rocky cliffs, but on the land side, it's all lush green grass in spring and summer where sheep graze. Note the large foghorn!

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Blue Boat Reflections

Long pier with cars driving and boas on the water during a gray day.

When painting this scene, I would apply artistic license to remove the cars from the jetty (they distract from the boats) and make the water a more interesting color (deep, dark blues, not bright blue, which will distract from the blue boat). The blue boat would be the focal point of the painting, as the splash of color immediately demands attention and pulls your eye into the scene.

Consider your composition: do you want it as long and wide as the photo? Do you want more to the left of the blue boat? Do you want to show some sky above the horizon of the sea (which has a potential problem in three stacks bands: a band of the jetty, a band of the sea, and a band of the sky)? Do you want one boat or two?

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River at Night With Reflections

A river at night with lights reflecting on the water and an artist rendering of the same scene.

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Eileen Donan Castle

This photo was taken on a crisp, clear winter's morning when the sun was reflecting brightly off the loch. The snow on the landscape and clouds helped create the silvery effect. When painting this scene, use the aerial perspective to get a sense of distance.

Consider editing out the flagpole, which is a bit of visual clutter. I would probably also make the tree near the flagpole a bit taller so you can see a bit of trunk, not just the top, to keep it from looking like a shrub. And knock back the intensity of the sun's reflection on the water behind the castle on the right-hand edge, so it doesn't distract the viewer's attention from the castle so much.

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Bridge to the Isle of Skye in Scotland

Bridge to the Isle of Skye under a cloudy sky.

A bridge connects the Isle of Skye to the Scottish mainland at Kyle of Lochalsh. The best views are along the coast to the east of Kyle, where there is plenty of parking. This is a great spot for some open-air painting when the wind isn't too strong.

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Scotland Countryside

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Scotland Painting Challenge

Scotland countryside with rolling hills and a muddy road leading into the distance.

This photo presents several challenges when using it for a painting:

The muddy track tends to lead the viewer's eye off to the left and out of the composition. Making the gate and stone wall next to it a strong visual element will help pull the eye back in.
The left-hand foreground is boring — consider cropping off most of it or adding some wildflowers (for instance, pink foxgloves).
The sky is dull. Consider adding a few fluffy clouds or cropping it so the sky is only a small part of the overall composition.
Leave out the telephone pole in the center of the field, as it spoils the rural idyll.
Remember that whatever you do with the sky, it needs to reflect in the puddles in the foreground.

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Thumbnail Sketches

Thumbnails for paintings in an artist sketchbook.

These thumbnail sketches are ideas for how you might paint this reference photo. Always remember, a photo can (and should) be adapted to suit you. On this page in my sketchbook, I've quickly put down seven ideas for a composition using this reference photo. I used a waterproof pen, then added a little watercolor. None are carefully plotted compositions, nor detailed. Thumbnails don't aim to be detailed. Rather, they are fast lines drawn for the main shapes in the landscape and then color-blocked to show possibilities.

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Hills of Scotland

Empty rolling hills in Scotland under a cloudy sky.

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Scotland Farmlands

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Scotland Fields

Low fields and two big hills against a blue sky in Scotland.

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Scotland Landscape

Landscape photo of the Scottish countryside with fields, hills, and fencing.

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Scotland Countryside With Fields and Homes

Scotland landscape with houses sitting on large fields.

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Cows in Scotland

There's something about the contradiction in this scene that appeals to me. It appears to be an idyllic rural scene near Annan in southern Scotland, with cows munching contently on green pastures. But in the background, instead of hills, sits Chapelcross nuclear power station. I've always thought it lent itself to a painting dominated by reds.

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Sheep in Scotland

Sheep grazing on green grass in Scotland.

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Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland

Caerlaverock Castle in Dumfriesshire, Scotland under a blue sky.

Caerlaverock Castle is near Annan, in southern Scotland.

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Herefordshire, England

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Overberg, South Africa

Landscape photo of green hills and a cloudless blue sky.

The Overberg region of South Africa is a wheat and canola growing area that, in spring, is a patchwork of greens and yellows.

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Gum Tress in Overberg

Small stand of trees growing in a large, grassy field under a perfect blue sky.

Ubiquitous gum trees dot the landscape of the Overberg region.

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River Scene With Tree

Small creek cutting across flat grasslands with a tree in the foreground.

There are two things you ought to consider in terms of composition when painting from this photo: where you put the horizon and where you put the river. As it is at the moment, they're both a little close to the halfway point, tending to divide the composition in half. I think I would extend the scene to the right and top, making it more of a panoramic landscape, rather than cropping it to a square format.

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Helderberg Nature Reserve

Helderberg lake with mountain in the background and green grass and plants all around.

This is the view from the dam next to the coffee shop at the Helderberg Nature Reserve, about half an hour's drive from the center of Cape Town, South Africa.

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Mountain Pass

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Mountain Cottage

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Mountain Cottage as a Watercolor Painting

Impressionist painting of a mountain cottage.

This is the photo of a mountain cottage turned into a watercolor with the colors adapted to create a sunrise scene.

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Cottage in Sutherland

Stone cottage in the Scottish countryside.

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Rock Formations

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Sunset Rock Formations

Desert rock formations at sunset. — Pixabay/Pexels

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Grand Canyon Features

Rock arch near the Grand Canyon. — Free-Photos/Pixabay

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Grand Canyon Landscape

Grand Canyon under a bright, sunny sky. — reynaldodallin/Pixabay

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Orange River

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Great Falls National Park

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Spring Flowers in South Africa

Spring flowers South Africa under a cloudless blue sky.

This photo of spring flowers that appear in August and September in the West Coast/Namaqualand region of South Africa was taken near Niewoudtville. Yellow and white daisies as far as you can see!

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More Flowers in South Africa

Multicolored flowers and hills under a perfect blue sky.

This photo of spring flowers, which appear in August and September along the West Coast of South Africa all the way up to Namaqualand, was taken near the Botterkloof Pass, on the R364 north of Clanwilliam, towards Calvinia. It's as if Mother Nature has tipped over her palette, splattering the landscape with color!

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Hex River Valley

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Karoo

Sweeping valley vista dotted with small trees.

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Windmill in Karoo

Windmill and shrub on a plain with mountains in the distance.

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Table Mountain

No prizes for guessing why the mountain that stretches around the city of Cape Town in South Africa is called Table Mountain!

Source

"Clanwilliam, Western Cape." Clanwilliam Tourism, 2019.