Grist Mill - Sky and Trees

The easiest way to paint a watercolor landscape is to work from the back to the front of the painting. Thus, painting the sky and background trees before working on the actual structure.

The painting is set in early summer; therefore, I selected colors for the foliage and the sky that would be seen that time of year.

I did not mask out any of the areas and simply painted around the posts. Watercolor paint, when painted on a flat surface, will not run into dry areas. Therefore, you can paint around the support posts on the walkway without having to mask them out.

Sky:
I used a light wash of Windsor Blue. First, wet the entire area of the background including the tree area as well as the sky. Prepare your wash first and paint wet on wet. I pulled the paint down into the tree area and allowed the wash to lighten as it grew closer to the horizon. Painting all the way down allows for some blue sky to show through the tree foliage.

Trees/Brush:
While the sky is still slightly wet, drop in the paint for the trees. I prepared the following paint:

Lemon Yellow
Sap Green
Deep green - made from a mix of sap green and ultramarine blue

Using a round brush, paint in the trees using the lighter and darker colors as well as the yellow to indicate new leaf growth. Let the blue sky show through in a few areas.

The foliage and bush in the foreground is painted using the same colors, but with more yellow.

Allow to dry. Next blog, we'll work on the old mill. Until then.....

Happy Painting!
Karen