The Artist - UK (2020-03)

68 artistMarch 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk

MODIFYING COLOUR: 3rd of 13

Here I will show how to modify your

colours for various snow scenes – the

most important thing is to get your

colours clean and bright. With careful

mixing you can create a lovely range

of pale greys that will be useful in

snow scenes. Instead of using blacks or

Payne’s grey, mediums, darks and very

darks can be created (right).

Grey scale

The grey scale is included here as it’s

a very disciplined way of getting the

correct tone for your painting. This is

extremely important in snow scenes as

we are faced with so much ‘white’ and

many shadows. If the overall tone is

too similar this will make a grey-looking

painting. Make your own grey scale by

starting with black and adding more

water to each mix to get the full tonal

range. Then cut it out and use it against

the colours in your paintings to check

that you have mixed the correct tone.

Snow scenes

A snow scene gives huge scope for illuminating

watercolour paintings. Julie Collins suggests some

subtle colour mixes to try for a typical snowy landscape

Black very dark dark medium light very light white

Points to consider in

any landscape, with

particular reference to

snow scenes

l Stretch the watercolour paper before

you begin. If the paper is 140lb (300gsm)

or less, you must soak and stretch the

paper onto a board. If the paper is 250lb

(535gsm), the paper can be taped onto

a drawing board using masking tape, on

all four sides. Alternatively, you can use

watercolour paper in a gummed-down

pad. With a HB pencil, draw up the key

elements of the landscape. Keep the

lightest areas of the snow by applying

masking luid or drawing on with a white

wax crayon.

l Dampen the paper with clean water

before you paint the sky. To do this hold

the board at a slight angle – this can be

done by resting a few books underneath

or using a table easel. Next use a large

brush (size 10 or 12) to drop in a pale

mixture of the sky colours; let them mix

on the paper – this will create a soft efect

in the sky, thus providing a contrast to the

sharper shapes in the trees.

l Work with your board lat when you

begin to paint the shadow areas in the

snow. Mixes such as burnt umber and

French ultramarine blue will granulate

and add texture to the snow. Within the

shadowed areas add stronger mixes of

blues and purples to add interest.

l Paint the darks with various mixes such

as French ultramarine and burnt sienna

or French ultramarine and burnt umber.

Make sure that you have a good tonal

range mixed before you begin painting.

l Structure. Take care not to make the

tones of the distant features too strong.

As the landscape recedes it becomes

paler.

TRY THIS SIMPLE EXERCISE
The main focus is to capture the sun breaking through in a snow scene. Firstly, mask out the sun,
then mix the colours for the sky: indigo with a touch of Indian red; raw sienna with the slightest
touch of Indian red; Indian red with a touch of indigo. These need to be between medium and
pale in tone.
Dampen the sky
with clean water
and then lood the
colours in, allowing
them to merge on
the paper. Take
care to keep some
of the area around
the sun the pure
yellow of the raw
sienna. The middle
ground is left white
and the foreground
is a bit of dry brush
work using a mid-
to pale grey

Indigo Burnt sienna

Indian red Raw sienna

Snow grey scale

Colours used

Mixes

Raw sienna + a touch

of Indian red

Indian red + a touch

of indigo (more red)

Indigo + Indian red

(more blue)

Indigo + Indian red +

burnt sienna = a very

dark for the fence

W

hen the sun shines, a snow
scene is flooded with light,
the contrast increases,
shadows add foreground
interest and snow-covered fields stand
out starkly in the distance. With an
overcast sky the scene may appear
uninspiring, with very little contrast in
tone or colour. Yet for me, even on a
dull day, trees in snow are fantastic to
paint, as the dramatic darks of the trees
provide great contrast to the whites of
the snow.
It’s useful to make quick preparatory
sketches and colour notes before first.
For some artists, the depiction of snow
in watercolour means leaving the white
paper unpainted. However, the colour
of snow is not simply ‘white’ and needs
subtle colour mixing with a range of
colours to create the best effects. Snow
often reflects the colours in the sky and
all the wonderful blues and greys in the
cast shadows.