Landscape, Shinnecock Hills

A sun-warmed rolling landscape defined by a mowed grass path cutting diagonally into the composition from the lower foreground, immediately drawing the eye toward a substantial dark green tree anchoring the middle distance. Pale, diffuse light from above-left creates soft shadows within the tree's canopy and across the hills; the entire scene reads as afternoon on an overcast but warm day. The distant hills recede in gentle waves, their yellowy-green slopes creating layers that move from warmer tones in the near-middle ground to cooler, hazier slopes at the horizon. Small brushwork throughout the foreground and mid-ground suggests individual grasses, wildflowers in muted purples and pinks, and scattered smaller trees.

The composition rests on a strong mid-tone foundation—most of the hills and grass areas occupy a narrow band of warm yellow-greens and olive tones. The sky and lightest mowed patches are distinctly pale but never pure white, maintaining an overall atmospheric unity. Darkest values appear concentrated in the tree's shadowed interior and foliage edges. When squinted, three clear value zones emerge: pale sky and foreground highlights, unified warm mid-tones across the hills and grass, and a single strong dark accent in the tree.

• #ece9e1

  Titanium white with touch of yellow ochre

  Sky, mowed grass patches in foreground bottom, light cloud areas

• #dad6b8

  Titanium white with raw umber and yellow ochre

  Pale sky passages, distant hill highlights

• #b7a961

  Yellow ochre with ultramarine blue and white

  Sunlit hill slopes, warm grass in mid-ground and sides

• #9e9c4d

  Sap green with yellow ochre and raw umber

  Mid-tone grass areas, rolling hills on left and right edges

• #8d8a42

  Raw umber with sap green and ultramarine blue

  Shadowed grass slopes, transition zones between lit and shaded areas

• #63662c

  Sap green with ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson

  Dark tree foliage, deepest shadows within tree canopy, dark vegetation edges

Chase handles nearly every edge as a soft transition rather than a line—the tree melts into surrounding grass, hills fade into sky without defined boundaries. Brushstrokes are distinctly directional: long, vertical marks in foreground grasses suggest growth and texture; loose, chunky dabs of varying greens build tree foliage as an impression of density rather than detail; diagonal horizontal strokes follow the slope of hills, reinforcing the landscape's gentle topography.

1. 01

   Establish structure with thin underpainting

   Lightly sketch the horizon line roughly in the upper third. Block in the dark tree mass as a simple rounded shape in the left-center. Draw the foreground path as a gentle diagonal strip leading from bottom-left toward the tree base. This is your compositional anchor—everything flows from this mowed area.

2. 02

   Paint the sky and establish atmospheric foundation

   Apply pale cream sky (mix white with touches of yellow ochre and raw umber) across the upper portion. Blend it so there's no visible horizon line yet—just a soft, even pale expanse. This neutral beginning prevents you from oversaturating greens later.

3. 03

   Establish distant hills with cool, pale greens

   Using pale yellow-green mixes (white + yellow ochre + touch of blue), paint the receding hill slopes in the upper-middle distance. Keep these noticeably cooler and lighter than foreground greens—this creates atmospheric perspective immediately. The small trees dotting the far ridgeline should be small, soft marks, not detailed.

4. 04

   Block in the dark tree with strong value contrast

   Mix your darkest green (sap green + ultramarine blue + touch of alizarin) and paint the tree mass boldly. Don't blend it yet; let this dark anchor sit against the pale hills. This is your value reference point—everything else will be lighter. The tree's right edge should be softer than its left where light catches foliage.

5. 05

   Develop foreground and mid-ground grass with warm greens

   Paint the sunlit slopes on either side of the path with warm yellow-green (yellow ochre + sap green). Use directional, loose strokes following the downhill slope. Introduce subtle purples and pinks in the foreground grass (alizarin mixed into greens) where wildflowers catch light. The path itself stays pale cream but with greenish shadows along its edges.

6. 06

   Add textural foreground detail with varied greens and marks

   With a smaller brush, apply vertical scribbles and dabs of variable greens in the immediate foreground—mix pure sap green, olive tones (yellow ochre + blue), and even cooler blue-greens into this texture. Vary the marks; don't create rhythm. Include small flicks of pale cream where grass catches light, and tiny touches of purple-pink where wildflowers read as small accents.

7. 07

   Soften tree edges and integrate into landscape

   Dry-brush lighter greens around the tree's perimeter so it doesn't appear cut out. The tree's right side especially should fade into surrounding hills; blend warm greens into the dark foliage edge. Small lighter marks on the tree's top suggest leaf clusters catching light from above.

8. 08

   Unify with atmospheric adjustments and value checks

   Step back and verify distant hills are noticeably cooler and paler than foreground. If the tree feels too dark, it's likely correct—use it as your value anchor. Soften sky-to-hill transitions if they feel hard. Bring warm ochre-greens forward in the near foreground to push the darker mid-ground back.

9. 09

   Final details and edge refinement

   Add small foreground grass details with pure green and pale cream highlights where light catches texture. Ensure no edges are sharp except occasionally where vegetation naturally reads as defined (grass edge against path). A few final cool-purple shadows in foreground wildflowers ground the color palette.

• Allowing foreground greens to become too bright or uniform—these hills have distinct warm and cool zones even within single slopes; mix each area individually rather than pre-mixing a 'grass green'
• Overworking the sky—it's intentionally pale and simple; resist blending it to perfection, which reads as dead rather than atmospheric
• Making distant hills too dark—they must recede through value and temperature; if they approach the midground in brightness, the landscape flattens
• Treating the foreground grass as a background—the visible directional marks and texture here are what invite the viewer into the scene; this requires a lighter touch and patience, not rushing
• Allowing the tree to dominate without softer edges—a hard dark silhouette reads as a cutout rather than part of the landscape; blend its perimeter throughout

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility