Mitchell Albala is a landscape painter, workshop instructor, and author living in Seattle, Washington. The Landscape Painter's Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color is his second book. His semi-abstract and atmospheric landscapes have been exhibited nationally and are represented in corporate and private collections. Mitchell has led plein air workshops in Italy, and teaches workshops throughout the Pacific Northwest and online. He has lectured on Impressionism and landscape painting at the Seattle Art Museum and has written for International Artist and Artists & Illustrators magazines. He also hosts a popular painting blog, which holds a top 20 spot on Feedspot.com's "Top 100 Painting Blogs for Artists.”

Quarto Creates: How did you first become interested in painting?

Mitchell Albala: Like most artists, the interest in painting and drawing dates back to our early years. As a child I was always drawing (superheroes, airplanes — pretty much anything) and playing with crafts of all types, especially model airplanes. But it wasn't until college, when I studied painting, that it became the primary means of my creative expression. It was also in college that my primary focus in painting began to emerge: an interest in the inherent abstraction within nature. I was fortunate enough to have instructors who encouraged this.

QC: What is your advice for those who want to try it but aren’t sure where to start?

MA: There are so many good instructional books and videos these days (like mine!), that one could easily begin learning that way. But sustaining one’s motivation while flying solo is not something most people can easily do. For that reason, I strongly recommend classes or workshops when getting started. Feedback and guidance from a good instructor, with a keen eye, can save you years of trial and error. You’ll get lots of encouragement and have the camaraderie of the other students in the class, who are working on the same problems you are. Painting isn’t easy and can often be frustrating, so my last piece of advice is that, regardless of what route you choose, be sure to set it up in a way that permits you frequent successes and “wins.” Painting is challenging, but it’s also supposed to be fun. So make sure you hold onto that!

QC: What artists do you look to for inspiration?

MA: As an instructor and author, I’m very didactic. When I see paintings that “wow" me, I always ask, “How did they do that?" If the colors seem to glow, I want to know, "Why do the colors react that way?” Liking another's painting is a start, but I need to know the hows and the whys. That’s practical for me, because those answers may hold a strategy that I can incorporate into my own work. I’ve always believed that when we say, “This painter inspires me,” we are really acknowledging a part of ourselves that we see in that painter’s work. If I love the work of a particular artist, I am really connecting with something in myself that has yet to emerge. 

QC: What is the biggest challenge you face while working on a painting?

MA: There are many challenges, but most commonly, it’s that my vision — what I’m trying to do in the painting — is often a bit beyond my technical reach. Another way of saying it: the painting is asking me questions, and I haven’t found the answers yet. This can be frustrating, but I think it’s par for the course. If I’m only doing those things I can do well (things that I have already found answers to), then I won’t have the chance to get my bigger and newer visions down on canvas.  

QC: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from creating?

MA: Acceptance. Being a painter means living in the gray zone — that is, we have to come to terms with the fact that nothing is ever perfect (which is also a reflection of how things are in life). Some of my paintings are much better than others. There are some things I can do very well, and other things, not so well. Painting constantly confronts me with this reality. It’s a delicate balancing act: on one hand, going forward to achieve my visions with paint; on the other, also recognizing that those visions are just a bit out of reach.

Learn more about Mitchell's work on Instagram @mitchellalbala and online at mitchalbala.com.