Demonstration

Step 1

I started by taping the watercolour paper to a board angled at roughly 30 degrees. I used masking tape to mark the dimensions of the painting: 12x14in.

2 With a pencil, I sketched the main elements of the composition. I was careful not to add too much detail – the details would be added gradually during the painting stage.

Step 2

I dipped a medium Round brush into clear water and scribbled a few areas in the top section of the paper that will become clouds.

Step 3

1 I mixed on the palette a large puddle of water and three blues: cerulean, cobalt and ultramarine. There was a larger ratio of water to paint at this stage, because in this painting I gradually worked in layers from light to dark and this was the lightest value.

2 I fully charged a medium flat brush with paint and water from the puddle on the palette. 3 With the first wash of paint, I carefully painted around the cloud areas, but let the brush lightly touch the outer edges of the clear water patches and allowed the paint to flow in. 4 I then painted long strokes back and forth until I reached the bottom of the page.

Step 4

1 Working quickly while the paint was still wet, I added more ultramarine blue and a touch of burnt sienna to the puddle on the palette.

2 I then painted in long strokes from the bottom of the page to a quarter of the way up. As the paint dried, these layers merged.

The darker value at the bottom of the page will help to bring the water in the foreground closer to the viewer and push the horizon line back, giving a sense of depth.

Step 5

1 I waited until the paint was completely dry then mixed on the palette a light puddle of water with a touch of cobalt blue, burnt sienna and a tiny amount of alizarin crimson. The slight purple hue helped to push the trees on the far bank away from the viewer and add atmosphere. I wanted to give just an impression of the trees so I didn’t add detail, but kept it simple.

2 I first loaded a medium Round brush with paint and water then, holding it horizontally, I dragged the brush down the page within the lines of the sketch. Notice how this looks sketchy and non-uniform.

Step 6

1 Next, I started painting the islands of grasses, beginning from the top of the page near the horizon and working my way down. Using a small Round brush, I mixed on the palette a pale green with plenty of water from cadmium yellow and the three blues (ultramarine, cobalt and cerulean).

2 I charged the brush with this mix and filled in the island with long brushstrokes, moving from left to right. Notice how the islands that are farthest way are narrow with just tiny slithers of water in between them.

Step 7

While the paint on the island was still damp, I mixed a dark value of ultramarine blue, burnt sienna and a touch of the paint from the previous green mix. With the sword liner brush loaded with this dark mix, I drew a line along the bottom edge of the island. This thin dark line merged with the green paint to represent the dark value under the grasses. It gave the island a three-dimensional look.

Step 8

1 I continued to work my way down the page, painting each island in turn in the same way. As I worked down, I added more pigment into the green mixes. I also switched to a larger Round brush for the initial wash, because the islands became gradually larger and I needed more paint on the brush to fill the area.

2 While the paint was still wet,

I added a dash of cadmium red to one of the islands. This looks dramatic at first, but quickly absorbs into the green mix.

Even though this hint of red is not in the photograph, it helped give a sense of movement and atmosphere to the island.

3 I also added a few dashes of a more intense green with the sword liner. This also helped to give the impression of movement and texture in the grasses.

Step 9

1 As I painted the larger islands, I mixed a more intense green. I used the same combination of yellow and blues, but added more cobalt blue and less cadmium yellow, and I used more pigment and less water in the puddles. I now started to think more about how to give the impression that the islands were made up of tall grasses. To give a sense of this, I kept the top edge of the middle islands rough by running a dry brush and the green mix along the top edge then quickly filled in with a wetter wash below it.

2 Next, I mixed a darker green, charged the sword liner and ran lines through the paint while it was still damp. I also ran a few dashes of cadmium yellow through the paint to show variety in the colour of the grasses.

3 I mixed a dark value of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, and while the paint on the island was still damp, ran a thicker dark line along the bottom of the island with the sword liner.

4 I allowed the paint above to merge with the dark line. This gave a sense of the texture of the soft grasses on the island.

Step 10

As I moved to the islands closest to the viewer, I waited until the green paint was almost dry then used the sword liner in long vertical and diagonal strokes to indicate the long grasses.

Step 11

1 I added some of the finer details. With the same green as the middle ground islands, I sketchily painted the leaves of the groups of trees in the background. I used a Round brush charged with paint and dragged it down an inch or so. Rather than painting individual trees, I saw the groups as one shape.

2 When the leaves were dry, I charged the Rigger with a dark value to paint the trunks. To do this, I held the Rigger vertically and lightly pressed down on the paper where I wanted the trunks to be. I then used one vertical stroke to indicate the post to the right of the group of trees.

Step 12

I mixed a dark green and, with the Rigger, carefully drew fine lines at the edges of some of the small islands to indicate the grasses emerging from the water.

How did you get on? Please send a jpeg image of your finished painting to dawn@tapc.co.uk along with a few lines on how you found this project, for inclusion on the Painting Project area of our website, PaintersOnline.