It’s Not Talent. It’s Not Magic. It’s a Skill-Stack

tmichaelniemanart
Jun 14
3 min read

Nearly every discussion I have with non-artists (or beginner artists) about painting leads to a conversation about talent. I hear phrases like:

“I can’t even draw a straight line”
“It must be nice to have the painting talent”
“Every time I try to draw or paint something I get so frustrated”
“I just don’t have the artistic talent to paint”

Most experienced artists will tell you that all you need to create a decent painting can be learned. Additionally, they’d tell you that failure is inevitable but just like any other complicated creative task - like making music, cooking a meal, building a house, learning to surf, mastering a sport, etc. - There are things you can do to increase your odds of more consistent success over time.

To become a good landscape painter, you need to build a skill-stack that combines technical ability, observational accuracy, and artistic interpretation.

These areas of competence can be broken down into interrelated component parts that can provide tangible target 🎯 areas to work on achieving and then maintaining mastery within each domain through discipline and consistent practice.

Painters can “stack the deck” by working on these seven skills…

Here's a breakdown of the essential components:

1. Drawing Fundamentals

Perspective (linear & atmospheric): Create depth and spatial relationships.
Proportions: Accurately render scale between elements (e.g., trees vs. mountains).
Composition: Learn rules like the rule of thirds, leading lines, focal points.

2. Understanding of Color

Color theory: Primary, secondary, complementary colors.
Color mixing: Especially if using traditional media (e.g., oil, acrylic).
Warm vs. cool: Helps create mood, vibration and depth.
Value (light vs. dark): Crucial for form and contrast.

3. Light and Shadow

Light source awareness: Understand direction, intensity, and temperature of light. This brings believability to images and helps enhance the visual perception of the viewer making the 2-dimensional image seem more realistic.
Shading & highlights: Create volume and realism.
Cast shadows: Know how light affects different surfaces and textures.
Gradation: Nearly every plain or surface we render as artists will reveal a gradual shift in light and shadow - or feature a gradual gradation. Capturing this feature will breathe life into paintings.

4. Brushwork and Technique

Control: Develop intentionality in strokes.
Textures: Use tools and brush techniques to suggest grass, bark, water, clouds.
Medium mastery: Whether digital, oil, acrylic, watercolor—each has unique behaviors.

5. Observation and Nature Study

Study real landscapes: Notice how light changes, how trees grow, how fog moves.
Plein air painting: Great for improving speed and accuracy in observation.
Reference usage: Photos, sketches, and real-life studies.
Capture: Developing a process that fits into your life whereby you can capture reference material reflecting those moments that you are inspired by.

6. Visual Memory & Imagination

Useful for composing from memory or combining elements from different sources.
Helps when simplifying or stylizing complex scenes.
Useful when painting under changing conditions (painting en Plein Air or painting live action filled scenes).

7. Artistic Judgment, Design Sense & Aesthetic Sensibility

Knowing what to emphasize, leave out or simplify.
Stylization: How realistic or expressive you want your work to be.
Mood and atmosphere: Storytelling through tone and color.

Bonus: Optional but Valuable Skills

Digital painting tools (Photoshop, Procreate, etc.)
Photography basics (framing, lighting, composition)
Art history knowledge (study of great landscape painters like Turner, Constable, or the Hudson River School)

Summary:

The Landscape Painter’s Core Skill-Stack is attainable by nearly anyone who can sustain interest in learning. Additionally, pursuit of mastery in each domain will reinforce the artist’s competence in the other areas and increase the chances of achieving more consistent results with each new painting.

It’s all been done before. You can do it too.