Here’s One Way To Be a Landscape Painter, No Realism Required

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

Landscape painting has a rich tradition across humankind, and for much of it, the focus has been on replicating the earth as realistically as possible. It wasn’t until the Impressionist movement that landscape painting in the Western world was redefined. Now, there are many ways in which to express the mountains, oceans, and grassy plains—no exacting approach required. In fact, you don’t need to be a realistic painter to be a landscape artist. Elyse Dodge is living proof of that, and best of all, she’ll show you how to cultivate a unique style.

Dodge is known for turning elements of the landscape into colorful, low-poly forms reminiscent of computer graphics from decades ago. The planes of a mountain, for instance, become a series of bright triangles, comprising wide and acute forms to make up one gigantic whole. The result is a mix of abstraction with additional scenery, such as plants and trees, painted more organically. But with the same color palette, it all works. The candy-colored forms are instantly recognizable as landscape art, yet with a contemporary point of view that combines tradition with a digital aesthetic.

If this style of painting excites you, the artist shares how to transform majestic mountains into geometric forms. Her class Acrylic Landscapes: Reimagining Mountains as Polygons is only available on My Modern Met Academy, our e-learning platform. During the hour-long course, she takes you through her process, which includes a digital component to help you plan your composition before you ever start painting. Much of the piece is planned digitally, so that once you begin painting on canvas, you can simply enjoy applying pigment without much extra thought, making it a relaxing experience.

Get a peek into Acrylic Landscapes: Reimagining Mountains as Polygons and enroll today on My Modern Met Academy.

You don’t need to be a realistic painter to be a landscape artist. Elyse Dodge is living proof of that with her colorful paintings that transform mountains into low-poly forms.

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

Elyse Dodge Art

Elyse Dodge Art

Elyse Dodge Art

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

Dodge shows you how to create a stylized landscape painting in her course titled Acrylic Landscapes: Reimagining Mountains as Polygons.

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

In it, she takes you through her entire process, which includes laying out the composition digitally and planning for all of the triangles.

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

She then demonstrates transferring the design to canvas and painting it using acrylic paint.

Paint blobs on a palette

Much of the piece is planned digitally, so that once you begin painting on canvas, you can enjoy applying pigment with little extra thought, making it a relaxing experience.

Elyse Dodge Working on Landscape Painting

Contemporary Landscape Painting by Elyse Dodge

Get a peek into the class below:

My Modern Met Academy: Website | Facebook | Instagram

Related Articles:

Exquisite Exhibition of Swirling Landscape Paintings Imagine Intangible Elements of Earth Through Color

The Evolution of Landscape Painting and How Contemporary Artists Keep It Alive

Ethereal Landscape Paintings Evoke the Abstract Beauty of Morning Light in the Mountains

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
Become a
My Modern Met Member
As a member, you'll join us in our effort to support the arts.
Become a Member
Explore member benefits