Dave Santillanes: Winter Landscapes

With 20 years of experience painting outside, Dave Santillanes has developed techniques that he has kept private until now. His outstanding career is proof that his previously undisclosed methods are key to capturing so much attention for his beautiful winter landscapes. 

Dave’s work has been featured in:

• PleinAir Magazine
• Southwest Art Magazine
• Art of the West

Dave is a Signature Member of:

• American Impressionist Society
• Oil Painters of America

Dave has been entering landscape painting competitions for years. Along the way, he has met other artists, studied their styles, and fine-tuned his own approach. 

Recently, Dave won the Grand Prize in the 10th Annual PleinAir Salon.

In Winter Landscapes, Dave Santillanes deconstructs one of his breathtaking studio paintings. In this behind-the-scenes look at the methods and secrets of this award-winning artist, you will get the insights you need to create snowy landscapes at the next level.

Just look at this painting. You can see that “snow is not white”! 

The many colors and the shading help you feel the cool breeze and almost hear the water trickling in the stream.

What you’ll learn in: Winter Landscapes By Dave Santillanes

• How to create “atmospheric depth” in your winter landscapes
• A proven way to paint FASTER with fewer mistakes
• Master snow-covered trees using Dave’s secret
• Dave’s own “depth method” for creating a whole world on canvas
• How to sculpt the color white with an impressive range of values
• Use THIS color to make all others POP! (You NEED to know this!)
• A surprising process for shape shadows
• The strategy Dave uses to build a solid foundation, making everything easier

The journey of being an artist is about getting “better”

Dave believes that with each encounter, he has the chance to raise his skills. He’s broken down the improvements into three areas. See if you agree:

1. Knowledge — He is insanely curious about painting. He studies the masters throughout history by reading their books and studying their paintings.
   
   
2. Technique — Learning different brushstroke methods, and learning mixing methods for the right colors.
   
   
3. Vision — This is the one element that truly amplifies everything. This isn’t just the vision you need to properly see your landscape, but to “see” what you need to make your painting. It’s a design eye … that elusive quality so few have the patience to master. In this video, Dave shows you exactly how to develop your own vision. It’s actually easy. He has found the hack that shortcuts the usual time it takes. You’ll be glad you have this ONE tip!

Delivered with a sense of humor

In his unique, soft-spoken style, Dave uses humor to make his important points stand out. For example, as he shares the reality that snow has many color values, he stresses that you never want to add yellow to your mix. As Dave says…

“In real life, you always wanna avoid the yellow snow!”

Shocking truth revealed: Snow is NOT white!

Most artists, when considering painting a snow scene, make a fundamental mistake. They paint the snow white. It is not white.

There are a huge number of values in snow. 

Snow is NOT white:  Look closely. This is where Dave shows you exactly how to explore the many values found in snow. His deconstruction is incredibly helpful. Dave breaks down exactly how he mixes and puts down these colors. The effect is amazing … and EASY to do once you know Dave’s secrets!

When you spend time in nature, you begin to realize how much snow takes on the atmospheric colors. The shading is critical, and Dave’s 20-year career has led him to a distinction so foundational to his paintings that he believes it’s the reason they have attracted such a following.

He separates two fundamental color families from one another. He then works with them separately. In his video, Winter Landscapes, Dave will show you exactly how he views these two worlds of color and how you can easily use the same technique.  

“I learned this by failing a lot!” 
— Dave Santillanes
 

You’ll be able to condense decades of his trial-and-error attempts when you get Winter Landscapes. And you’ll realize just how easy — and profound — this color separation is, and why it matters. 

This ONE part of the video will literally save you years of struggle and have you getting compliments on your paintings like you can’t imagine!

Dave Santillanes’ video Winter Landscapes also includes:

• How to analyze the scene
• Mixing the right values and temperatures of color
• Dave’s favorite mixing knife — you’ll love this tip
• Why Dave paints on a very slick surface 
• The secret to simplifying colors for maximum impact
• The magic behind starting with this plane first, every time
• How to make objects appear to come forward
• How to make warm or cool whites
• Exactly how snow reveals color
• The secret to “snow shadows” that add realism and depth
• When to paint the sky
• The one color to NEVER use in any snow
• How to control the direction of your brushstrokes
• The type of brush to use for the brightest brights in snow

Imagine personally learning from this master

Just imagine what it would be like to learn from Dave Santillanes personally. He could show you how he begins with the scene and ends up with a winter landscape painting that almost defies description. 

What would that be worth? How long would you need to really absorb what he’s teaching you? Would it be a couple of days, a week, longer?

Well, thanks to our video team, we’ve captured Dave as he practices his magic in his studio. In this video, he talks to you as if you are right there with him. 

Plus, unlike in real life, you’ll be able to hit pause. You can even have him back up and repeat what he said and show you again (and again) his highly refined and proven techniques.

This video is a MUST HAVE for you, no matter your current skill level.

As Dave says, “The whole journey of being an artist is about getting better as a painter.”

Be TRUE to yourself

Dave shares the point when his career really took off. He knows exactly when it happened. He was talking with someone who was admiring one of his paintings and said to Dave, “I know exactly where you were standing when you painted that.” 

But this WAS NOT POSSIBLE. In signature Dave style, he had “built” that painting by incorporating landscape elements that were not actually in the viewfinder frame but found elsewhere in that natural landscape. 

And, using his creative license and keen design eye, he built the scene and then painted it.

It turns out, the viewer told Dave where he was standing, and HE WAS RIGHT!

How is this possible? Dave discovered in that one painting, he had captured the core essence of that scene, and it came through to that viewer so clearly and powerfully.

Dave knew at that moment exactly how that happened. And for the first time anywhere, he will reveal how he did it in THIS video! 

The hidden problem with photos

Dave used to paint from photos. But then he discovered a huge flaw. In fact, it revealed itself in EVERY painting he ever did that was from a photo. 

This FLAW will be obvious to you also; once you know the problem, you’ll never be able to see photos the same way again. Dave will tell you exactly what the problem is and his genius tactic for addressing it.

Are you a painter or a storyteller?

Dave has a method that allows him to become fully involved in his paintings. He uses multiple focal points to walk the viewer through the story he has captured.

To do this, he has taken a drastic step. Once you learn what it is, it may seem counterintuitive. But the proof is in his finished winter landscapes that have captured the hearts and minds of viewers. He’s even captured a LOT of prize money from the competitions he’s entered. 

This ONE drastic step just might be the “X factor” you are missing from your paintings.

When you get Dave’s Winter Landscapesvideo, you’ll see him take this ONE step. He will explain why he does this and how it has brought his painting to a whole new level.

A bonus included with Dave Santillanes’ Winter Landscape video:

You’ll get Dave’s 7-point eye-leading formula!

1. How Dave includes multiple focal points in one painting
2. The distinction between hard edges and soft edges
3. Understanding high-chroma color vs. low
4. Atmospheric elements that fill out the story of your scene
5. Linear perspectiveleading eyes back to atmospheric perspective
6. 2-D and 3-D depth-building in your paintings
7. The secret element that makes the previous six explode with life and results in an astounding painting that stops people in their tracks!