- Finishing touches
I finished things off by painting the telegraph pole. I did this by adding Green Gold
and French Ultramarine to the Permanent White gouache. With this last detail in
place, it was time to stop. This is always the stage in a painting when overworking
is a real possibility, so it is far better to put the brush down, step away from the
board and review your work before it is on to planning the next painting.- Wash the trees
In order to prevent the trees at the end of
the lane from appearing to form one large
tree I carefully painted them individually.
With the board at an angle still, I mixed
French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Gold
to wash in the shapes of each tree in turn,
allowing the wash to gather at the bottom.
With that wash still damp I touched in
some extra French Ultramarine pigment
on the shadow side and allowed the wash to
dry completely. Once it was, I repeated the
process for the middle tree.
- Create puddles
I prepared a pale wash of Burnt Sienna and
used it to paint the top part of the right-hand
hedge, before allowing it to dry completely.
Then I mixed up two puddles of colour on
my palette. Both were mixes of French
Ultramarine and Transparent Oxide Brown,
but one had a brown bias to the mix and
the other leant more towards blue.
I used these to paint the branches and
twigs, varying which puddle I took the colour
from as I went. That variation helps produce
a far more interesting effect within the
painting than if a single colour had been
used throughout. Any unpainted areas
serve to depict small patches of snow
caught within the branches of the hedge.- Deepen the tones
It was time to add the shadows to the hedge
on the left and also to firm up the painting
of the road. With a mix of Green Gold and
French Ultramarine, I carefully washed in
the shadow on the hedge bank just above
the snow and used touches of the same
mix to indicate patches of shadow within
the hedge itself.
For the road, I turned to my favourite mix:
French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna. I chose
a strong, dark mix for the distance, which
would act as a dynamic contrast to the white
of the snow. In the foreground, I went for a
paler, more dilute mix. This would allow the
colours to separate out, suggesting
reflections on a puddle of melt water.- Add random details
I flicked in some bright oranges and greens
to the hedges and some of trees. I did this by
using watercolour pencils, the tips of which
had been dipped into water in order to give
the marks a real kick of intense colour.
Turning back to the size 8 brush, I touched
in a few shadows on the lying snow with
French Ultramarine and Permanent Rose.
I also added a few patches of snow to the
top of the hedge using the Permanent
White gouache.