In this lesson, Glenn demonstrates the use of a foreground, middleground, and background to divide your landscape compositions into visual planes. Using basic artistic principles, you can create a volumetric image that evokes meaning and story. As you identify elements in the scene and begin to lay them into your comp, you’ll find reward in modifying shadows or shapes– diverging from reality. Creating multiple thumbnails and iterations of the same landscape will give you a better understanding of what’s possible, and importantly, will lead you to make some personal creative decisions!

In his 50 years in the fine arts industry, Glenn Vilppu has gained fame for his renaissance approach to drawing and painting. He’s displayed his work at dozens of one-man-shows, and is represented in collections throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Glenn’s books and DVDs are used by universities and art schools across the globe. His traditional observational techniques for teaching drawing have become the standard for professional artists everywhere.

In this series, Glenn takes the New Masters Academy team out of the studio and into various environments for on-location landscape and figure drawing. He demonstrates techniques for drawing with gouache, graphite, and fountain pen.