plate no. 9069
Mountains in the snow
some experience helpful
Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in creating depth using line work and understanding atmospheric perspective with a limited color palette. Students will also learn to simplify complex forms into basic shapes and lines.
technical profile
palette complexity
2
brushwork visibility
3
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
3
study guide
est. 8 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes of the mountains, sea, and rocks.
- step 02
Apply a base layer of light blue to the sea, creating a gradient from dark to light.
- step 03
Apply a light grey wash to the sky, leaving some areas lighter to suggest clouds.
- step 04
Paint the mountains with a very light beige/white, leaving areas for shadows.
- step 05
Add details to the mountains with thin black lines to define ridges and textures.
- step 06
Paint small clusters of trees on the mountainside using short, broken lines.
- step 07
Add horizontal lines to the sea to represent waves, varying the thickness and spacing.
- step 08
Outline the rocks in the sea with black ink, adding some shading to suggest form.
color palette
primary · light blue · light grey · beige/white
secondary · black
Mix the light blue by diluting a darker blue with white. The light grey can be achieved by mixing a small amount of black with white.
techniques
- ·linear perspective
- ·atmospheric perspective
- ·simplified shapes
- ·line drawing
- ·gradient wash
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the details, keep the lines simple and minimal.
- →Making the colors too saturated, aim for muted and subtle tones.
- →Not creating enough contrast in the sea, the gradient is important for depth.
- →Making the mountain outlines too uniform, vary the line weight.
materials
surface · Watercolor paper 140lb
required
- ·Watercolor paints or acrylics
- ·Round brush size 2
- ·Round brush size 6
- ·Black ink
- ·Fine liner brush
- ·Water
- ·Palette
- ·Paper or canvas
optional
- ·ruler
- ·kneaded eraser
- ·watercolor pencils
Use a smooth paper for best results with the ink lines. Consider using a reference photo of mountains to help with the line work.
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