The Fox Hunt

Light enters from the upper left, casting the fox's body into relief against the snow field while illuminating its russet fur with warm highlights. The composition is anchored by the fox's stretched horizontal form in the lower two-thirds, creating strong forward momentum toward the right edge. Your eye is pulled first to the fox's head and shoulders—the warmest, most detailed area—then follows the sweep of its body and tail across the white expanse. The dark mass of ravens (three distinct birds) occupies the upper right and center, creating a secondary threat that completes the narrative tension.

The value range is compressed into the middle registers—there are no true blacks and no brilliant whites, creating a muted, cold atmosphere. The darkest darks are the ravens' wings and bodies (nearly black-blue), the fox's black ear tips and tail tip, and the dark rocks upper left. The lightest lights are the snow in the immediate foreground and middle ground, with a distinct tonal drop where the snow meets the turquoise water. When you squint, you see three value zones: dark sky and water, mid-value snow field, and the dark accent of the ravens and fox's extremities.

• #b6bdc8

  Titanium white + touch of ultramarine blue

  Primary snow surfaces in foreground and middle ground; the luminous face of the snow field

• #8fa1b3

  Ultramarine blue + white + raw umber

  Shadow sides of snow drifts; the cooler recessed areas and the distant snow near the water

• #a1afbd

  Ultramarine blue + white + burnt sienna

  Mid-tone snow transitions and atmospheric haze in the middle distance

• #344d5e

  Ultramarine blue + burnt sienna + touch of white

  Deep water where it meets the snow; the shadowed undersides of the raven wings

• #8b6f47

  Burnt sienna + raw umber + touch of white

  Fox's russet-brown fur on the back and sides, catching the pale winter light

Edges are deliberately soft throughout—the fox's fur transitions into shadow with feathered, broken edges rather than hard lines, created by dry-brushing and scumbling with the #6 flat. The snow surface is handled loosely with visible brushstrokes that follow the contours of the drifts, never uniform. Only the ravens have slightly sharper definition at their silhouettes against the sky, and even then the wing edges are ruffled and irregular, painted with the #2 flat in quick, directional strokes that suggest feather groups.

1. 01

   Establish the sky and water masses

   Block in the entire upper half with ultramarine blue + white, lighter at the horizon band where the moon glows. Use the #6 flat in broad, horizontal strokes. The sky should be noticeably darker than the snow—this value separation is critical. Leave the moon area pale cream (white + touch of burnt sienna). The water band should be distinctly turquoise-blue, darker than the sky.

2. 02

   Paint the snow field foundation

   Fill the lower two-thirds with titanium white + touch of ultramarine blue mixed to a pale blue-gray. Apply with the #6 flat in loose, directional strokes that suggest the slope and contour of the snow. Don't make it uniform—let the brushstrokes follow the undulating surface. The snow nearest the water should lean slightly cooler (more blue); the foreground can be warmer (more white).

3. 03

   Block in the fox's body

   Using the #4 round and burnt sienna + raw umber, establish the fox's silhouette stretched horizontally across the center-right. Keep the shape loose at this stage. The fox's back and head should be warmer (more burnt sienna); the tail, ear tips, and belly shadows should be darker (more raw umber and ultramarine blue mixed in). Don't worry about fur texture yet—focus on getting the elongated pose and the warm-cool temperature relationships correct.

4. 04

   Paint the ravens in the upper right and center

   Block in the three raven forms with ultramarine blue + burnt sienna + white, keeping them dark but not absolute black. The upper-right bird is the most complete; use the #2 flat to suggest wing articulation with quick, directional strokes. The central bird's wings should overlap the sky. Keep these forms silhouetted and slightly mysterious—the viewer should read them as threat more than detail.

5. 05

   Model the snow with shadows and reflected light

   With ultramarine blue + raw umber + white (a cooler, darker gray), add the shadowed sides of snow drifts using the #6 flat. Follow the contours visible in the reference: the shadow edge along the right side of the fox, the deeper shadows in the middle distance near the vegetation, and the recessed areas near the dark rocks. Use thin paint and broken strokes; the transitions should be soft. Add a few strokes of this same mixture to suggest the ground plane beneath the fox.

6. 06

   Refine the fox's fur and form

   With burnt sienna + white on the #4 round and #6 flat, add warm highlights to the fox's back, neck, and head where light strikes. Then layer burnt sienna + raw umber + ultramarine blue for the shadow side of the body. Use dry-brush technique—let the underlying snow show through—to suggest fur texture. The tail should be darkest (mostly raw umber + blue), and the fox's ear tips and nose should be nearly black. Define the eye and the forward-facing head more clearly than the rear haunches.

7. 07

   Add atmospheric detail and the red berries

   With the #1 liner and raw umber + ultramarine blue, sketch in the bare branches and vegetation poking through the snow at left (the sprigs of red berries). These should be delicate and sparse. Add a small white seabird at far left as a accent. Then use a dry brush with ultramarine blue + white to add subtle wind-scoured texture across the snow surface—horizontal strokes in the mid-ground to suggest the wind-packed quality and distance.

8. 08

   Integrate dark rocks and final atmosphere

   With ultramarine blue + burnt sienna + touch of white, define the dark rocky formations at upper left and upper right edge. These should be loose and gestural, not detailed. Use a final glaze of ultramarine blue + white thinned with medium over parts of the distant snow to enhance atmospheric perspective. Step back frequently—the painting should read as a unified cold scene with the fox and ravens as the warm, urgent narrative center.

• Making the snow too white and uniform—it must have visible temperature shifts (cooler in shadow, warmer in light) and directional brushwork that suggests the wind-sculpted surface. The snow is never a blank field.
• Softening the fox's head and shoulders too much—this is where your detail and warmth belong. The fox's face and forward body must be readable as the protagonist, while the rear haunches fade into suggestion.
• Painting the ravens too small or too refined—they should be bold, dark, and somewhat ominous as silhouettes. The composition relies on their threat as a counterweight to the fox's vulnerability.
• Flattening the water band by making it the same value as the sky—the turquoise water must read as distinctly cooler and darker, creating a clear horizon line that grounds the composition.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility