Adelsteen Normann’s Summer in Fjord

For your inspiration today is a grand landscape by Adelsteen Normann titled Summer in Fjord.

A few observations:

• It follows many of the classic “rules” of landscape painting. If you asked me to visualize a landscape with mountains and a lake, something like this would come to mind. This can be a positive or a negative depending on how you look at it. The rules and theory exist for a reason: they are safe and generally lead to visually appealing artworks. But on the other hand, it may appear cliché and overdone. In this case, Normann sets himself apart from other landscapes with his impressive execution.
• He took a softer and more simplified approach with the sky. The land has a more gritty and raw feel to it.
• The sky has a wonderful dance between positive and negative space (the clouds and the open sky). It appears natural, but it also has a sense of structure and harmony. Like you would expect of a good classical piece in music.
• The mountains gradually get cooler and weaker in the distance, suggesting atmospheric perspective.
• There’s a subtle link between the sky and land with the overlapping clouds on the mountain tops. This gives the painting a sense of cohesion. The sky and land appear distinct, yet also part of the same whole.

• The shoreline helps draw our eyes into and around the painting. Notice how he created the illusion and detail with all the different strokes and colors and textures.
• The reflections on the water’s surface are of course a key feature. Normann used flatter and more horizontal brushwork. He also used weaker and slightly darker colors, creating some distinction from the actual mountains and sky.
• Around the back of the lake, Normann scumbled pale blues over the top to suggest wind brushing the water’s surface.

• There’s a concentration of activity and detail around the buildings and boats. This is also where the shoreline leads our eyes. If I had to pick a focal point, this would be it. Though it’s a weak focal point given the grand mountains behind competing for our attention.

• On the left-hand side, there’s an interesting play of color, with small bursts of saturated orange against a large area of cooler and weaker colors.
• The birds dancing above the water’s surface are a nice touch. There’s an interesting play in scale, with the grand mountains in the back and these tiny birds in the front. Also, notice how the birds are a similar size to the boats a bit further back. This is linear perspective at play (things appear smaller in the distance. This is an idea that we are all familiar with, but it is still important to actively think about).

Let me know your thoughts about the painting in the comments. If you ever want to learn more, check out our Landscape Painting Masterclass.

Happy painting!

Dan Scott

The post Adelsteen Normann’s Summer in Fjord appeared first on Draw Paint Academy.