Tutorial Step by Step:

Snow on the Wolds in Watercolours

Step 1

After stretching the paper I flooded the top part with clean water and applied a graduated wash in cobolt blue.

Step 2

Using a Kolinsky Sable the clouds are formed by draging and rolling the brush accross the surface and lifting out colour.

Step 3

The first steps to painting the hawthorn hedge is acheived with the use of Madder Brown, Quinacridone Gold and Ultramarine Violet. The paint is applied by using the side of the brush in a dry brush technique with some spots of wet in wet darker tones dropped in as the hedge appears.

Step 4

Blue shadows of the drifts of the snow are painted with cobolt blue.

Step 5

Further snow drifts are painted with washes of Cobolt Blue and deeper shadows with Indigo Blue. In the foreground a thin mixture of cobolt blue, ultramarine violet and alizerine crimson is used in washes between the colder blue shadow areas.

Step 6

The Hawthorn hedgrow is developed in more detail with the use of Madder Brown and to the shadow side indigo Blue.

Step 7

Slowly continue the detailing of the Hawthorn Hedgerow darkening the shadow areas and flicking small twigs around the top as desired.Also at this point the occational grasses are painted in that show through the deep snow. I find by holding the long handle brush at almost full extension I can get (with a little practice) some lovely free flowing thin twigs and grasses.

Step 8

On the right horizon a little low hedge is painted in Maddor Brown mixed with Ultramarine Violet.

Step 9

Any final touches are painted at this stage.

Step 10

The final work- a delightful snow scene capturing the starkness of a cold but bright afternoon in December 2009 on the Yorkkshire Wolds just outside the village of Kilham.