Watercolour on Arches paper 1/2 Imp. Sheet. Tonal Plan

At the bottom of the page is the completed Watercolour

 

 

 

Colours used- Winsor Blue ,French Ultramarine, Alizarin Crimson , New Gamboge, Burnt Sienna, Winsor Green, Yellow Ochre , and Brown Madder (Aliz.)

Brushes - Sables Nos. 6, 9, 12 + Rigger No 6, 3/4 & 1/2 inch Flats

Synthetics - 1.5 Inch for wetting down and blending initial colours.

Additionally- HB and 2B pencils, natural sponge, Art Masking fluid, No.1 Oil bristle (for scrubbing back )spray diffuser bottle, and putty rubber ( because some artists have been known to make mistakes- not me you understand! )

Paper - Arches aquarelle 300gsm ( 140 lbs ) Rough 1/2 sheet. Stretched on my own home made boards for convenience....which makes life a lot easier ( than using the gummed tape route)

 

The finished artwork. Always remember-

"You can think about the first step for two weeks if you want to providing you make the final work look as though it was done and dusted in two hours.....Down this road lies freshness and clarity".

Ross. P. Mills.

Alpine Solitude

Having prepared a few thumbnail tonal sketches, as is my usual practice, I drew a faint outline on the precious piece of paper. May as well make as many mistakes in the "warm up" rather than in the "big game."

After masking a few snowy boughs on the Fir tree and rocks in the stream I commenced by wetting the paper and allowing it to dry for a few minutes in order to start work on a damp surface.

I floated the primary colours Alizarin Crimson, New Gamboge, and Winsor Blue in diluted form all over the snow area ( take care to greatly dilute the Winsor Blue as it is very powerful !) this gives a subtle life to the snow banks to follow.

Allowing a drying period, I placed a graded wash in the sky area ensuring the sunlit snowy peaks had a sharp edge, this was done with a Winsor Blue, Ultramarine mix, insinuating a little Alizarin towards the edge of the mountains.

At this point have a cup of Tea or Coffee whilst planning your next move. With a stronger mix of the two blues and Aliz together with a trace of Burnt Sienna the distant ranges to the right were created, then with more emphasis on the warmer Sienna the mountains to the left were "raised".

With mixtures of the two blues and Aliz and Yellow Ochre the middle ground hills side and river bank were completed, and whilst the underlying blue was damp the trees were added with a mix of Winsor green and Burnt Sienna with highlights of New Gamboge.

This is the point at which there is no return..you are committed.. do not loose your nerve and you may well have a winner at the end of your brush.

Now tackle the Fir tree with a similar mix as the background trees but highlights warmed by the addition of the Gamboge and shadows darkened by the use of a Winsor Green, Burnt Sienna mix. (Watch the addition of water as lack of tone here will drag this tree into the background as if it was attached to a snow plough!)

Water at these altitudes and in these weather conditions takes on a darker aspect, probably because of the startling clarity of its surroundings. At any rate it is the duty of the artist to reflect ( no pun intended ) this "about face" and show it as almost the darkest tone in the piece. This was achieved with an Ultra / Brown Madder combo.

The cabins were modeled with hints of Ultra for roofs and a sienna / Madder mix for the sides, a sprinkling of lone pines was then added. The snow was suggested by elongating shadows over the rutted ground , and a touch of Sienna was placed in the foreground.

The work was now almost complete can you see the final touch which gave this both human presence and also an air of calm ?.

To the cabin on the right I added a column of smoke by lightly wetting the surface and scrubbing it back with a small bristle brush. This shows someone is "about" and also the air is still.. if only in my painting.

Now all that remains is to mat it , frame it, and find it a home!!

Did I say ALL ?

Happy Painting

Ross