Bianca Rayala

Gouache Sketchbook: Techniques for Simplifying Landscapes with Confidence

Hi Chris. This is absolutely stunning! What a beautiful interpretation of the class project, and I love how you translated the lesson so beautifully into Procreate. What immediately stands out is your beautiful sense of atmosphere and depth. The way the foreground grasses and flowers frame the scene creates such an immersive experience, and the eye travels so naturally toward the barn. Your layering from foreground to middle ground to sky is so thoughtfully done. I also really admire your control of contrast and detail. Even though your piece leans beautifully toward a hyper-realistic finish, the barn still remains the clear focal point because of the strong structure, darker openings, and the way the surrounding field softly supports it. Your foreground florals are especially gorgeous. The variation in flower shapes, sizes, and textures creates wonderful richness, and the warm yellows against the earthy greens feel so harmonious. The sky also has such a lovely softness that balances all the intricate detail below. One thing I especially appreciate is how you still honored the spirit of the class—clear focal point, depth through tonal values, and thoughtful contrast—even while making it uniquely your own style in digital form. That’s such a beautiful way to apply the lesson. As a gentle next step, if you’d like to lean even more into the simplification concept, you might experiment with leaving a few more foreground areas softer or less defined so the hyper-detailed flowers shine even more as intentional points of interest. Overall, this is incredibly beautiful work, and I’m so inspired by how you made the lesson your own. Thank you so much for sharing this gorgeous piece.

Bianca, thank you so much for your comments. Loved this class and taking on the challenge that it set up! Your comment about simplification is taken to heart. I do struggle with working loose and simplified. It is something I aspire to attain more intuitively in my works. Creating mood and emotion in my art work is important and I find it difficult most of the time to articulate. I recognize that a loose painterly style is very effective in accomplishing it and will continue to challenge myself with classes like yours. That you took the time to comment on this piece is most appreciated! Awesome class and thank you again!

wow digital... this is just so pretty

This was a very enjoyable class! My artwork is done in Procreate. I like to follow along with traditional techniques and bring them to life in digital format.
<img srcset="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/b07c0d9a.jpg 600w, https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/b07c0d9a.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 600px, 100vw" src="https://static.skillshare.com/uploads/discussion/tmp/b07c0d9a.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="Days Past - image 1 - student project">

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