This is an easy watercolour painting you can do, and learn about tone and depth of field too! How about that! Happy trees and happy mountains.
This week, I’m bringing you another watercolour painting tutorial, which is good for adults and teens. You won’t need much to complete this painting, and you don’t need anything expensive either! This is what’s called a monochromatic painting, so you only need one colour of paint. I used blue in this video, but I’ve also done this with green and red, and it looks just as good.
You will need:
– Watercolour Paper
– HB or 2B Pencil
– Watercolour Paints (one colour)
– Soft Synthetic Brush (watercolour brush)
– Water (two containers)
– Eraser (optional)
Step 1: Sketch Your Mountains
Begin by lightly sketching the outline of your jagged mountains on the watercolour paper. Focus on creating a range of peaks and valleys to add interest to your composition. Keep your pencil lines light so they won’t show through the paint.
Step 2: Apply the Sky
Mix a light blue colour on your palette and apply it to the upper portion of the paper to create the sky. Use more water compared to pigment to create a light shade of blue for the sky. Use lots of water, to create the top layer because it’s going to be very light.
Step 3: Paint the Mountains
Apply the next colour, this shade will be a little bit darker, same shade of blue, just darker. Start with the lightest colour and gradually build up darker shades to create depth and dimension. Use your round brush to apply the paint, and don’t be afraid to let colours blend naturally on the wet paper. As you paint down the page, add more pigment to create a darker shade of blue to create a tonal difference, between each layer of mountains.
Step 4: Add Details
Once the base layer is dry, using the same brush and some black or navy watercolour paint, add some trees. Pay attention to the direction of light in your composition and use darker shades of blue for the foreground and slightly lighter shades of blue for the middle ground. You can also use a fine detail brush to paint birds in the sky.
Tips for Success:
- Work from light to dark: Start with a lighter shade and gradually build up to darker shades.
- Keep your brush strokes loose: Watercolor is a fluid medium, so let the paint flow naturally.
- Keep in mind: Watercolours tend to dry lighter than the colour you first apply. The colours are going to change as they dry.
- Experiment with monochromatic colours to create tonal depth and dimension.
This is an excellent activity to do, to explore watercolour using one colour and painting different values. By following these easy steps, you’ll be able to create a beautiful mountain landscape with watercolours.
