“Is Landscape Art Similar To Figure Painting And Drawing?”

By Michael Dale

It might seem strange to state that learning to draw and paint a picture of the human body is similar to landscape art. However, if you take time to think, can you see that they are alike.

The human body has skeleton and muscles beneath the skin surface
Landscape has the structure of rock strata and clay, covered with top soil, sand or clay.
Skin surface has varied texture… with rough hard areas like the palms of a workman’s hands and soft tender areas like around the eyes
Similarly, you can compare a coarse rock face and the softness and springiness of a newly mown grass lawn.

Other comparisons can be made…

Can the hair on a man’s leg be likened to summer meadow?
Or, could a woman’s hairstyle be compared to woodland or a forest?

You might argue that other likenesses exist between figure and landscape art. The one thing that cannot be disputed is that surface form and texture of both are dictated by various outside influences.

Imagine a tree bending in the wind. It is fixed to the ground by a hidden root system. This matches an arm hair which also has a root. As trees sway with the wind, the arm hairs will stand upright in response to the chilling feel of a cool breeze. And, as a human arm will twitch and shiver, the ground beneath a tree will shift as a reaction to the movement of a gale blown tree.

A similar comparison might be made for grassland and reed beds. Wind and rain can trample and flatten fields of wheat… and marshland grasses will sway and rustle. In similar fashion, the best cut hairstyle will appear squashed and trampled in a torrential storm.

Also…

As a river bed can become dry and cracked from the heat of summer… a person’s skin can become dry
The smooth shiny surface of a wet eye in its socket can match the rolling movement of a rounded pebble in a fast flowing river bed

If you can see similarities between the way landscape is formed and how human body functions determine its appearance… the mysteries of both landscape painting and figure drawing are reduced.

Michael Dale is the author of 1- Color Is Best (the quick and easy way to learn to paint watercolor) and 3- Colors Are All You Need (mix any color you want fast using only 3 colors). Contact http://www.Paint-And-Draw.com to find out more.

If you haven't done so already, why not take a look at the video that features some of Michael Dale's latest watercolor paintings at... Amazing Colors

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