Loosen up your landscapes

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

■ How to paint with acrylics

■ Loosen up your style

■ Work in layers

In looking for subjects for my workshops, I often scour my art history books to pick up ideas on different styles or methods of painting and, if I am looking for a quintessential English scene, I’ll settle on the landscapes of Constable – or rather his sketches. Constable’s large studio pieces, although spectacular, can be quite detailed and tight in comparison to his, sometimes equally as large, sketches. Take his views of Salisbury cathedral, for example, where the ground of the canvas shows through the thick swirls of paint, which are quickly and sparsely applied and details roughly