Create and meditate: Landscape Painting Artist Benny Andrews

In this lesson, we begin to structure our landscape through the use of brown paper.  We discuss how to view the painting and decide which features to incorporate into the work.  You choose the colors and the details from the painting that you are drawn to and begin to build the background intuitively.

In this lesson, we will talk about how to create a seamless painting from these two types of paper fused together.  We will talk about color mixing and I will walk you through my process as I paint spaces on the paper. I will offer you suggestions to help you decide how you want to approach your painting.

Please find the trees inspiration page in the resource section and have it available as you listen to this lesson.

In this section, we will discuss the choices to consider when creating an art piece inspired by someone else's work.  We choose colors and formations as we organically piece together the platform created by the brown paper.  And I talk about ways to let the paper pieces 'decide' the way in which the painting should take shape.

Throughout the course you will find lectures labeled "meditation" that you can incorporate in your painting practice.  I like to take a few minutes before I start to paint as a check in before I begin.

In this lesson, we will discuss composition and texture.  We will compare our painting to the Andrews painting and discusses opportunities to incorporate our personal touches to the piece. 

In this lesson, we will talk about some blending techniques and ways to make your painting feel cohesive.  We will look at each quadrant of the painting and discuss ways to enhance the landscape.

In this lesson, we have let our painting dry and we will look again with fresh eyes and enhance the painting with details that draw the eyes to the most pleasing parts of your painting.  We can make our final changes as needed.

I invite you to journal about the process of creating this piece and also about takeaways from Mr. Andrews' biography.

This lesson offers another opportunity to take about 5 minutes before or after your painting practice.  The lessons marked "meditation" can be incorporated anytime and in any order throughout the course.

This is lecture is the final of the 4 meditation sections that I encourage you to incorporate in your creativity practice.

This lesson offers you suggestions for your next steps and some final thoughts to encourage you on your journey.

Benny Andrews, the renowned African American artist, had a deeply personal connection between his creativity and spirituality. For him, art wasn't just a form of self-expression—it was also a way to connect with something larger than himself, a kind of spiritual practice.

Andrews often spoke about how his art reflected his inner beliefs and his connection to his heritage, and for him, the creative process had a meditative quality. He saw his work as a way to express emotions and experiences that words couldn’t fully capture, and in that sense, his art was like a spiritual language—one that could communicate deeper truths and touch on universal themes.

His art was also informed by a sense of social justice, and he believed his creativity was a tool to challenge, question, and engage with the world around him. He often explored themes like inequality, identity, and the human condition, using his work as a way to highlight suffering but also hope. This belief in the power of art to inspire change was an important aspect of his spirituality—it wasn't just about personal expression, but about engaging with the world in a way that could uplift and transform others.

For Andrews, spirituality wasn’t tied to one specific religion but was more about connecting to a higher truth through his creativity. His artwork allowed him to explore his own identity, reflect on his roots, and ultimately, offer viewers a deeper, more empathetic way of seeing the world.