This week we are celebrating our National Parks and I wanted to share a few of my favorite photographs and paintings of America’s National Parks.
Today I’m showcasing Yellowstone!
I was blessed to live and work in Yellowstone area for years and it still owns a piece of my heart.
You can learn more about Yellowstone on the NPS park website and also follow my travel blog: adelelassiter.com as we do a virtual tour of the park’s unique natural beauty.
April is one of my favorite times of the year. North Carolina bursts to life with gorgeous flowers and relaxing sunny weather.
I’ve added some new art to my Etsy page and wanted to share a few of the pieces I’ve worked on in the past week!
Please support my art journey by purchasing my work on Etsy – I keep my prices at cost (just covering supplies) because I want to spread hope through art.
Want to keep posted on my art journey:
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Whether you are a seasoned artist or getting into painting for the first time – making sure you have the best supplies to empower your art is important.
I’ve been actively painting with acrylics for about five years – and painting regularly (3 times a week) since the pandemic hit. I wanted to share lessons I’ve learned along the way.
It is important to recognize that art is a journey and while you can master certain techniques – artists are always learning and growing. We can develop unique styles and master regimens, but the best artists are always open to growth. Masters like Monet, Van Gogh and beyond – learned from making mistakes and developing their craft.
The most unique artists I’ve studied (including modern masters and YouTube experts) studied other artists and practiced techniques from past ‘masters’ to learn technique and open their vision from paint to palette.
The point – don’t be afraid to try different styles of art and take a tutorial on how ‘Van Gogh’ painted – creativity is part orignality and part collaboration. You can learn a lot through online tutorials or putting your own spin on historical paintings (just reference the original artist when you are done). Ginger Cook (YouTube Acrylic Teacher ) has a great series of how to paint the masters on her channel.
Also don’t be afraid to test out different styles of art. I personally love to paint landscapes, but recently I’ve tackled abstracts. Within my landscape portfolio I try different views on the same landscape – from impressionism to abstract to expressionism. Sometimes I fail and it’s okay – it is only paint! You can paint over a canvas if you mess up! I always learn more from mistakes than successes in painting. Work with the process.
The biggest advice I can give from my experience in art is it is worth investing in quality supplies – especially if you are a beginner. While the buy one = get ten free sales at Michael’s on student paint seems tempting – in the end you will waste time and money by ‘saving’ cost upfront on student paints.
Why? I used to buy fifty paintbrushes for $10 on sale -but they were impossible to paint with. I had to use tons of extra paint to get it to stick to the canvas – not to mention tons of paint hairs would wind up on the canvas stuck in the paint.
Cheap canvas? They can be redeemed with gesso but a cheap and ineffective canvas can be like sandpaper on your brushes…unable to keep paint on the canvas and leaving blotchy spots.
Paints – while there are some decent student grade paints -most are watered down and have less pigment so you end up using a tube of paint just to finish a painting. The mixing quality isn’t as good.
I’ve tried lots of different paints, brushes and supplies over my art journey and continue to test new products. The standbys I always invest in are listed below – they provide the best value for the investment and help me to provide the best art to my clients and continue to improve as a painter.
Acrylic Paints:
I recommend investing in your primary colors first and then adding on specific specialized colors that are harder to mix (magenta, dioxinade purple, etc…)
Invest in a color wheel and mixing guide so you can make more colors from less tubes of paint.
Brushes:
I spend a lot on brushes and have also saved a ton of money and time by doing so. A quality brush is essential to painting – from beginners to professionals.
I recommend Silver Brushes – they are my absolute favorite – especially Ruby Satin.
However, I also supplement with Soho (Jerry’s Artarama), Princeton and Raphael
I order from Jerry’s or The Brush Guys
Canvas:
I’d love to get you feedback on what products you love
Sunflowers Rising –
The night is darkest before the dawn
And yet the sun rises to the fight
The light of hope doesn’t extinguish in the dark
The light of resilience is a peace that sustains its spark
Hope does not fade it ignites an uncharted faith
Freedom to dance amid the sunflowers without fear
Today we cry but the seeds of hope – the sunflowers in the field will sow the sunlight
Prayer for Ukraine
Please consider donating to Save the Children, CRS or UNICEF
All profits from my Etsy Page will go to the above charities through the end of March!
This spring I am continuing my ‘Painting the National Parks’ collection as well as adding in fun floral prints and abstracts. Fresh art is being added to Etsy weekly.
Please support a working artis by purchasing through Etsy or via direct message.
My goal is create beautiful, fun and relaxing art that is affordable and accessible to art lovers.
Check out the story behind this impression of Shenandoah National Park on my sister blog Adele Lassiter – American Nomad
I love mountains, and The Blue Ridge Mountains have a piece of my heart. I am always drawn to the vast rolling jagged hills of the Blue Ridge. One of the most stunning tracts of Appalachia is in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park.
Located only 75 miles from DC, this oasis of pastoral beauty is flanked by the Shenandoah Valley to the west and the Piedmont to the east. This land is steeped in history and is a place that time seems to have forgotten. Here to can hike 500 miles of trails and enjoy scenic vistas on the Skyline Drive.
I knew I wanted to paint an image inspired from my time in Shenandoah, but struggled with which image to select. I decided to paint a scene from the Stony Man trail – where the rocks appear like a shipwreck against the mountains – windswept and undaunted.
Shenandoah is known for is vast valleys, mountain passes, but the rocks again the lush landscape are my favorite scenese.
I wanted this to be a fluid painting. When you look at a Blue Ridge vista it is so sweeping details run together into a montage of color and light.
I focused on values and making the focal point of this painting the rock.
To learn more about Shenandoah National Park click here
To support my art (so I can keep painting – buying art supplies) – consider purchasing an original painting on my Etsy page.
Prior to COVID-19, my mom and I were planning an action-packed 10 day trip to Yosemite and Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Parks. June 2020…it was our dream trip and unfortunately with the pandemic we had to cancel. Losing out on the trip is not a huge loss, given the burden COVID has caused. One thing that helped me during the pandemic has been painting and connecting with other painters virtually during lockdowns and social distancing.
Even if COVID has upset past and present travel plans, ART has a healing power and we are blessed to have the ability to watch live videos of scenic nature (YouTube has hours of scenic videos of our National Parks – enabling the homebound to enjoy the scenery from afar).
I still have my stack of Yosemite guidebooks on my shelf and hope to make the trip in 2023. The reservations are so crazy now to get in the park – we are looking to visit South Dakota this year.
While I am valleys and mountains apart from Yosemite and California’s National Parks, I can imagine myself in the wilderness, in the shadows of Sequoias and vast mountain valleys and vistas.
I’m still painting my way through California’s parks, but wanted to share my progress so far….
All art is available on Etsy
The tunnel view vista of the Yosemite Valley is one of the most iconic images in America. Photographers and painters from Ansel Adams to Albert Bierstadt have tried to translate the natural beauty of Yosemite into art. God’s artistry in nature is unrivaled and yet scenes from Yosemite dare us to dream and art can help us to connect with nature and creation.
Painting my version of the Yosemite Valley took four hours. The natural scenery is so sweeping you need time to scale the elements. The perspective in painting the Tunnel View is difficult.
My goal in this impression was not extreme detail, but to ensure I matched the values of the scene from from reference photo. I sought to add hints of browns and lighter tones in the rock to represent the lighter values in the reference photo.
Overall I’m satisfied with the painting and will have it on my Etsy page soon.
Yosemite, like Yellowstone (Grand Canyon of Yellowstone) is a place I will continue to paint time and again. Each day and each season offers new inspiration. I hope you enjoy this painting.
King’s Canyon National Park:
King’s Canyon is known as a mini-Yosemite – it is vast and beautiful with jagged peaks and the gorge of a chiseled canyon. In searching for a reference photo, I noticed the clear blue water of King’s Canyon’s back country lakes. I wanted this to be a reflection of the park.
I focused on building layers of light grey and browns for the peaks – with a dusting of snow (Titanium White and Iridescent White + Phlatho Light Blue). The lake was an emerald clear green so I used lighter blues and greens to create this scene.
To learn more about the park click here
Channel Islands:
I have always dreamed of visiting Channel Islands National Park – which is a ferry ride off the coast of Southern California.
I took my inspiration from this image of Cathedral Cove
My painting is meant to be an impression and not at detailed as the reference photo -but I wanted to work on the values of the island stone and deep impenetrable blue of the ocean.
To learn more about the park – click here
Art for sale on Etsy – by purchasing Fresh Art by Adele – you support an artist to purchase additional supplies and run her blog 🙂 Thank you
I’ve continued my journey painting the National Parks by focusing on North Cascades and Mt. Rainier. Both of these paintings are impressionistic and focused on the values of the space. Although the brush strokes are big and bold in places the layering took several hours to build up the colors and flow.
North Cascades National Park:
This park is on my bucket list. I’ve visited the Cascades several times but never been to North Cascades. Located several hours from Seattle, this national park features spectacular vistas tantalizing scenes of crystal clear waters with rocky jagged peaks and over 300 glaciers. It is a convergence of lakes, rivers, lush forests and alpine ecosystems
In preparing to paint the North Cascades I studied multiple photos/videos and in looking at the values I was amazed by how blue the mountains appear and the lakes are a deep blue and green.
I could tweak the painting with more details but I followed the values and the sweeping and deep brilliant colors.
The brilliant colors of the water come from the silt (Glacier National Park MT is similar)
To learn more about North Cascades
Mt. Rainier National Park:
I fell in love with Mt. Rainier when I was in eighth grade. My dad took me on a ten day Washington state trip from Seattle and Mt. Rainier, Olympic and Mt. St. Helens.
I have always love mountains and seeing the first rocky alpine mountain west of the Appalachian. I felt like I had arrived in heaven. I wanted to emulate that heavenly feel in this impression. The glorious colorful wildflowers, winding trail and snow capped colossal peak.
In painting this scene…it was all about layering. I used my Silver Ruby Satin brushes and liner brushes from Soho and Princeton.
I started with a grounding color of unbleached titanium and Payne’s grey with ultramarine blue.
I then blocked out the colors with values and then starting building out the colors and details.
To learn more about Mt. Rainier
Interested to purchase these or other Adele Lassiter originals check out my Etsy
Arches National Park impression(above)…If you like my art you can email me or go to my Etsy page
Utah is a land of dramatic vistas, tantalizing colors and otherworldly landscapes that invite travelers to explore, relax and experience God’s artistry. Utah is home to the ‘Mighty Five’ – five stunning national parks including: Zion, Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef.
I am grateful to have visited all of Utah’s national parks multiple times. I first traversed the wild landscapes in college during a cross country road trip. My favorite memory is sleeping under the stars at Capitol Reef National Park.
My mom and I spent two weeks in Utah during a road trip in 2014. We loved camping at Zion National Park (in March) at Watchman. The campground is in the shadow of ‘The Watchman’ near the entrance of Zion Canyon. We also spent time in Bryce Canyon at Ruby’s Best Western.
When I got my job at Qualtrics – a key motivator was the ability to travel to the Utah office (I’m based in NC) periodically. I loved the fact Qualtrics included the outdoor philosophy into their business model and experience management focus.
This weekend I am enjoying a NC snow day ‘Painting through the National Parks’ focusing on Utah’s Mighty Five. I started off with impressions of heavenly Zion National Park and Arches National Park
*I will be blogging about Utah Parks in on my sister site (adelelassiter.com – Travel Blog) in February and sharing my favorite stories and tips about Utah’s Mighty Five.*
Arches National Park:
Located just outside of Moab in eastern Utah, Arches National Park has the distinction of having the largest concentration of natural arches in the world – more than 2000.
Arches is one of my favorite places to paint because i love the bright colors – vibrant hues of oranges and sand yellows, against the cool blue to mud colored jagged La Sal Mountains. It is an otherworldly place – you imagine God hand carving the canyon and ancient peoples living in the shadow of the arches.
This is my latest painting of Arches Delicate Arch. This is a winter scene. I love the snow contrasting the orange red of the rocks.
This painting took roughly 3 hours to complete. I started with a grounding color (ultramarine+q magenta+unbleached titanium). I then built the arch layer by layer. When I paint I focus on values. As a perfectionist I used to get frustrated when paintings don’t come out exactly like the realistic picture – but I’ve learned to let that go and focus on painting what I see – even if it seems irrational. If the snow looks blue – add some blue. If you mess up it is okay! Play with the paint and learn.
A big tip I have in my painting journey is that even beginner painters need to invest in the right materials. I used to use student grade paints because they were cheaper and the colors looked good – but they are hard to paint with an you have to use an entire tube practically for one painting. Same with brushes – using a cheap brush means you brush hairs get on your paintings and will break. I now only purchase quality brushes and they last.
My favorite brushes: Silver Brushes (they last forever if you clean them and are ideal for my landscapes); Raphael – just discovered this brushes and they are great for grounding the paint (painting the background); Princeton; Jerry’s Artarama Soho brushes.
Best places to purchase: Amazon (of course); Jerry’s – great paint store; The Brush Guys
Zion National Park:
Located in southwestern Utah – Zion is ‘heaven’ on earth. Words won’t convey the majesty of Zion. The canyon is glorious and mysterious – a canyon of wonder and adventure. To learn more about the park click here.
My mom and I visited Zion in March – the offseason. In the summer Zion is so crowded they have a ticketing system and limited vehicle traffic (visitors rely on shuttles). If I return it will be in the off season because it was quiet -and I could really explore the hiking trails without congestion.
The only issue of visiting in winter/early spring is it can get cold. But the dry air and bright sun keep it manageable during the day. If you are camping (we were) – just make sure to have a negative zero sleeping bag. It got down to 17 degrees and I still felt warm.
I’m excited to blog my journey as I paint through the National Parks. I was blessed to live and work at Yellowstone National Park and have been obsessed with exploring and supporting our parks ever since.
During the pandemic I have begun to focus on my passion for art. Painting (along with creative writing and travel blogging) has been an outlet for me. I paint several times a week – working to expand my professional skills as an acrylic painter.
I decided to start sharing my art and blogging the stories behind each piece. Art is a continuum – it has a starting point, but your journey never really ends. You are always learning and growing as an artist.
The greatest joy of painting for me is when I can share my art and someone else enjoys it. The colors and composition help them dream a little and lift their mood. There is not greater feeling as an artist (writer, artist, musician) than to share your art and connect with another person through art. Art is part of the human experience.
I realized that I keep painting – only to put the art in a box and that is not moving me forward. I want to share my art and connect with other artists.
I follow excellent artists like The Art Sherpa and the talented NC painter Daisy Faith – they challenge their students/aspiring artists to paint regularly and around themes. The challenge is 30 days of painting (Acrylic April with The Art Sherpa) or Daisy’s suggestion of painting every day for sixty days around one theme that is close to my heart.
I am going to spend the next sixty days painting through America’s National Parks. I will blog (at least once a week) my art journey, sharing my art and what I learned.
This will be a crossover event as I post travel blog posts on my sister site adelelassiter.com with pro-tips for visiting the parks. (I’ve visited over 35 of our National Parks so far). This will allow me to combine my love of travel, writing and art together -hope you enjoy!
My goal is to sell enough of my art in 2022 to help pay for my supplies (canvas, paints, etc…) so I can keep painting. I want to sell the art on Etsy primarily to connect with art lovers and challenge myself to continue to improve. Support me on Etsy
I’m excited for you to join me in this Painting through the National Parks journey. It will be a adventure of painting and learning about our wonderful parks.
My first painting is a rendition of Yellowstone National Park’s Lower Falls. Located in The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River is one of the most iconic images in nature. The canyon is a kaleidoscope of color and light. An artist could spend a lifetime painting scenes the canyon – the colors and values vary depending on light and seasons – pulling hues of pinks and yellow.
Art led to Yellowstone becoming the world’s first national park – Thomas Moran’s paintings of the canyon convinced Congress to create Yellowstone.
Learning: I have painted the canyon before, but wanted to test my boundaries in this piece. I watched an Art Sherpa tutorial to learn her techniques on painting the Lower Falls. I then applied those skills to my own creative work.
With artistic landscapes I really lean into the values of the reference photos more than being exact. The canyon is so stunning I can’t replicate – but hopefully my painting echoes the beauty of the canyon.
The key with landscape paintings is layering and patience. I used a grounding color (background base) and built layer on layer from there. This painting took 3 hours to complete.
For a real-life example of the canyon:
Like the painting? Click here to check out my Etsy page
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I invite you to paint along with me:
Whether you are new to art or a seasoned professional I recommend the following tutorial sites (free and paid)
Adele Lassiter Creative 