Landscapes are the largest section of our catalog, around 150 designs, and the one where buyers hesitate longest. Two scenes can look equally pretty in a thumbnail and take wildly different amounts of time. This guide sorts them by what they feel like to paint.

Skies and water: large areas, fast progress

A scene with a big sky or a calm lake has large numbered zones. You fill them in long strokes and see the painting take shape in the first evening. That early momentum is what gets a beginner to the end. Aurora scenes, sunsets over a pier and mountain lakes at dawn all fall in this group. The challenge is blending: adjacent zones in similar blues need a light touch so the borders do not show. Thin the paint very slightly with a drop of water and work wet into wet along the edges.

Forests: hundreds of small zones

A dense forest, especially autumn foliage, is the opposite. Tiny zones, many of them, in six or seven greens that look alike on the palette. Pleasant if you enjoy a rhythm, tiring if you want a result quickly. Choose 36 colors rather than 48 for a forest: the extra shades add realism but also add a lot of squinting. Keep a liner brush (size 000 or 0) for the leaf edges.

Mountains: the sweet spot

Rock faces give medium-sized zones with strong contrast, so the picture reads well even from across the room before it is finished. Snow and shadow planes are satisfying to block in. Our Highland Panorama is the kit we hand to people who ask for "something that looks impressive but will not take a month". At 16x20 inches and 36 colors most customers report two to three weekends.

Coastlines and fields

Lavender fields, wheat under a storm, a beach house with palms: these sit between the groups above. Expect a few large areas and one detailed focal point. They photograph very well framed in natural wood.

Size matters more than you think

All landscapes come in five sizes, from 12x12 to 23.5x23.5 inches. Our recommended size is 16x20 inches (40x50 cm). Below that, a forest becomes fiddly; above that, a sky starts to need a lot of paint and patience. If you want a statement piece, go large on a mountain or seascape, not on foliage.

Four landscapes we would start with

The full set is in the landscape collection, and the American landscapes shelf groups national parks and desert scenes.

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