Rather than working on just one finished piece I will demonstrate the different elements in small sketches/paintings (4" x 6") as there are so many different ways to render the same subject.
My intention is to do a landscape workshop in all four seasons, so you may wish to choose your favourite view and paint a version of it in each season.
Below are my notes for painting the landscape in winter, which I hope will be of interest to you, together with a list of recommended equipment to bring with you on the day. Feel free to print out my notes and add your own notes and observations.
Things to bring with you on the day:-
- Lots of paper, plus strips for testing.
- Paints, palette, water jars
- Brushes, sponges
- Pencil, rubber, ruler
- Reference photos of your favourite views and skies. If you have a tablet it might be handy to connect up to my wi-fi so we can share images on the day.
- Something to cover your table
- Masking fluid and applicators
- Masking tape to edge your pictures with
- Salt, wax, a piece of cling film, a piece of plastic (credit) card and spay bottle for textural effects
- White paint if you wish to splatter “snow”
- Your lunch
WORKSHOP NOTES
The example below right is a watercolour painting by David Bellamy (the artist, not the botanist) of Eilean Donan Castle - the reference picture is on the left. The scale hills of the hills have green greatly exaggerated to enhance the atmosphere of the painting.
Crop your view or reference picture to decide on a format. Do thumbnail sketches to explore compositions, tonal contrasts and colour combinations. Keep them simple. Look for areas of the same tone and abstract them into light and dark. Using the paper as the lightest tone put in the mid-tones and then the darkest tones. Do no detail at this stage.
Decide what will be your focal point. There should only be one, place this and other main divisional lines in accordance with the Golden Section (or Rule of Thirds).
Think about lead-ins and lines that will lead the viewers’ eye in and around the picture. This can be achieved with lines whether real or implied, or with repeating colours or shapes.
Middle ground – Tones are slightly darker (mid-toned) and colours slightly warmer but in winter browns may still appear cool. Edges appear less soft and start to become important in describing what an object in the landscape is. Shapes become larger.
Foreground – There is greater contrast in tones in the foreground. Try keeping your lightest light and darkest dark for the area surrounding your focal point to draw attention to it. Colours are warmer, particularly when compared to background colours. Edges in the foreground can be a combination of hard and soft, as well as lost and found. If the edges at the focal point are hard it will help it to stand out. The foreground (particularly the focal point) is the place for detail.
Plan counter change – light against dark (but remember to put light areas into darker ones and dark areas into lighter ones).
Think about what the main colour of your subject matter is and what the main colour temperature is. Keep the colours you use to as few as possible. Try contrasting intense colours (bright) against colours of lower intensity (muted) or contrasting warm/cool colours, using predominantly one with accents of the other.
FORM, LIGHT AND SHADOWS
Everything has form, with a light side and a dark side, but this is often overlooked. Notice that the cast shadow is darker than the side of the object that is in shadow. What effect is the light having on your subject? Is it giving hard or soft edges, detail or no detail? Shadows are softer edged in less sunny conditions and will be softer the further away they are from the sun.
Look for and emphasise hidden colours especially in shadows.
Shadows on snow can be a variety of colours as it reflects the sky.
Shadows also follow perspective so careful observation is needed.
Don’t forget to keep standing away from your painting to assess whether adjustments are needed to the tones, colours and focal point.
Graded wash of one colour. Skies can be grey with a low, watery sun - lift-out, paint around, soft edges.
Variegated wash - sometimes the first wash used over the whole landscape to create unity and establish an atmosphere.
Variegated graded wash - more difficult (but realistic) skies. Colours are influenced by the time of day ~ try warm to cool blues. Blues to raw sienna. Cool to warm = evening sky.
CLOUDS:- Follow perspective too
Techniques for painting clouds
Lift out with a tissue or damp brush
wet-into-wet - and negative painting
wet-on-dry - softening edges as you paint
There are mainly bare trees/bushes/hedges at this time of year, although there are some evergreens.
Paint detail only at the edges, where there will be more contrast in tone.
Blend the trunk and branches together so they don’t look stuck on.
Soften the base of the trunk into the landscape, again so it does not look stuck on.
Trunks and branches are not always brown. Carefully observe the colour - they can often be muted greens and greys.
Observe the overall shape of the different species
How much of the trunk shows at the bottom?
Break the shapes down into one of the 3 basic shapes, and use tone to make them look 3D.
Wet-into-wet - variegated washes (especially for background trees). Granulating pigments are especially good as background trees painted wet-into-wet
Wet-on-dry
Use a rigger to paint branches as they taper off
Dry brush - used to create texture and the fine tips of branches
The different ways to use a brush ie dry marks or splayed bristles
Negative painting - in the case of light toned trucks/branches
Sponge - especially those trees that retain some of their brown leaves in winter
Splatter
Fields are either fresh green shoots of spring barley or brown earth/plough.
Banks of white snowdrops and yellow aconites can be seen from around January. Later, daffodils and wild primroses.
There doesn’t have to be detail in the foreground, especially if it detracts from your chosen focal point. Use textures and dropped-in colours in an otherwise dull foreground.
Splatter (water or paint)
Sponge
Brush marks/dry brush
Wax
Salt
Cling film
Plastic card to scrape back or add paint
Hoar frosts
Snow
Ice
Rain
Muddy puddles/tracks
Cloudy skies, blue in the sunshine - but still cold 🥶
Stormy skies - try a Burnt Sienna and French Ultramarine mix
BIRDS/ANIMALS
Fox hunting in daylight
Robins
Deer