plate no. 4024

Winter Landscape

Wassily Kandinsky, 1909

oil, cardboardPost-Impressionismlandscapelandscapetreesbuildingpathskyhills

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in color mixing and applying expressive brushstrokes to create texture and form. It also encourages experimentation with non-realistic color palettes.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes of the landscape: hills, building, path, and trees.
step 02
Block in the large areas of color: yellow sky, blue hills, and the base color for the ground.
step 03
Add darker values to define the shadows and forms of the hills and trees.
step 04
Introduce secondary colors and highlights to create depth and interest in the ground and sky.
step 05
Paint the details of the building, using a bright yellow and adding shadows to define its shape.
step 06
Add the dark tree trunks and branches, varying the thickness of the lines.
step 07
Refine the path with pinks and purples, adding shadows along the edges.
step 08
Add final touches and highlights to enhance the overall composition.

color palette

primary · yellow · blue · pink

secondary · green · purple · orange

Mix greens by combining yellow and blue. Achieve purples by mixing blue and pink. Vary the intensity of colors by adding white or black.

techniques

·broken color
·impasto
·color layering
·expressive brushstrokes
·scumbling

common pitfalls

→Over-blending the colors, which can result in a muddy appearance.
→Making the colors too uniform, which can flatten the image.
→Not varying the brushstrokes enough, which can make the painting look monotonous.
→Losing the overall composition by focusing too much on small details.