Paint a winter scene in watercolour

A winter scene is one of the best subjects for a first watercolour. You only need a few colours: a soft blue-gray sky, a line of bare trees and a lot of white paper left alone for snow. In watercolour, what you don’t paint matters most, so you are already halfway there. It also takes an evening or less.

Choosing a view

Pick a photo of a winter view that is simple, such as a field with a few trees, a road disappearing into the distance or a lone tree against the sky. Avoid scenes with lots of tiny detail. If you can, use one you took, or look out your window. No snow where you live? Paint it from a photo, or paint a frosty morning instead, with a pale sky and dark bare branches.

What to bring, beyond the list

• Two jars of water, one for rinsing and one for clean water.
• A round brush in a medium size, plus a smaller one for branches.
• Masking tape, to hold the paper to a board.
• A paper towel for blotting.
• A pencil, for a very light sketch.

How to paint a winter scene

1. Tape the paper down to a board with masking tape. It stops it buckling.
2. Sketch lightly with a pencil. Draw the horizon, the trees and any shapes you want to keep white. Don’t press hard.
3. Wet the sky with clean water in a brush, over the area above the horizon.
4. Paint the sky. Touch a little blue and gray into the wet area and let it spread. Keep it pale. Leave some patches of white for clouds.
5. Let it dry completely. Wet paper looks darker than it will end up.
6. Add the distance. Paint a faint, pale line of far hills or trees. Pale means mostly water.
7. Paint the ground shadows. Use a very watery blue-gray for the shadows on the snow, following the shape of the land and leaving the lit areas white.
8. Paint the trees. Use a small brush and a dark colour, such as a mix of blue and brown. Start with the trunk and add thinner branches, lifting the brush as they get finer.
9. Add a few last details, like a bird, a fence post or a tiny dot of colour, then stop.
10. Let it dry, then peel the tape off slowly.

What goes wrong

• The sky has hard edges. The paper was dry or drying. Work while the paper is wet, and keep a thin line of wet at the edge.
• The colours turned muddy. You overworked it. Use fewer colours, and let each layer dry before the next.
• The snow isn’t white. You painted over it. Keep the lightest areas free from the start.
• The branches are blobs. Your brush had too much paint. Dab it on a towel and use the tip.
• It looks flat. Add a few darker shadows, and let some trees be paler in the distance.

Keeping it

Let it dry flat, then trim the tape edge for a clean border. Put it in a frame or tape it on the wall. Date it on the back. If you do a few across the season, you have a small series.

Mixing winter colours

You can make a calm winter palette from very little. A blue with a touch of brown or orange gives a soft gray. More water gives a paler gray, and more paint gives a deeper one. Shadows on snow often look good in a pale blue or a blue with a hint of purple. Dark branches look natural in a mix of blue and brown rather than straight black. Test your mixes on a scrap of paper before you paint, and keep everything paler than you think you need, because watercolour dries lighter.

Make it a winter evening

Put the kettle on and set up near a window. If you can, paint it right after a winter hike while the colours are fresh in your mind, or from a photo you took on a snowy day.