Three Sisters, Blue Mountains (Atmospheric Perspective)
Explore Australian Tree Colours and Atmospheric Perspective as we paint one of Australia's most famous landmarks the Three Sisters, in the Blue Mountains on the western fringe of Sydney.
- About this painting
- What will we learn in this painting?
- Student Paintings
- Book this session
Get my ebook showing how to paint 'Three Sisters, Blue Mountains'.
About this painting
Photo by Peter Inglis
One of Australia's most famous landmarks, the Three Sisters are found at Leura in the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are named such because the oil from the eucalyptus tree leaves imparts a blue haze to the air.
Here are just a few of the many versions I have painted of this scene, along the model of "iterative learning":
I painted this smaller version almost entirely with flat brushes.
Atmospheric Perspective
Let's take a vertical section of this scene in order to more clearly see what nature does to colour.
Notice how the olive green becomes a blue green in the distance! Same trees, same day, different colour.
Australian Tree Colours
The colours in most Australian trees are cool green-grey. We will learn how to mix these colours from our
Basic Palette.
Using Tones to create Planes
Three tones are enough to create planes in a landscape. In this student painting we can clearly discern:
- Foreground
- Midground
- Background
Student Paintings
Student painting
Therese's "Three Sisters" is looking very painterly in the light of her home studio!
Students at Inglis Academy engrossed in their painting of the 'Three sisters'.
