How to Add Power to Your Paintings With Notan Sketches

A major problem for artists is how to simplify a scene for a landscape painting. Nature is chaotic and you cannot include everything you see into a painting. So how do you select what is important? Then how do you simplify that object so that you do not get stuck on little details?

The answer is the notan sketch. A powerful technique that takes only minutes to complete.

1. The notan sketch will teach you how to find the powerful elements of a scene. 
2. Decide what to leave in and what to leave out
3. Establish the primary lights and dark shapes
4. Make starting your painting much easier.

• Introduction
• Why Simplification Adds Power
• It Begins With Selecting a Scene
• Notan Demonstration
• Step 1: Squinting Technique
• Step 2: What Are Values?
• Step 3: Identify Mass Shapes
• Step 4: Draw the Notan
• How Not to Draw a Notan
• Conclusion