International Artist – August-September 2019

Watercolour Demonstration 93

you have no choice but to embrace
the varied seasons, and since I started
painting snow scenes I’ve learned to
love our long winters. In fact, when I
know we’re about to welcome our  rst
snowfall in November, I can hardly
sleep in anticipation.
Painting snow scenes o ers a
particular set of challenges. You want
to capture the subtlety of the snow and
incorporate enough detail to make the
scene interesting. I save the white of the

paper for the snow, and use the snow

shadows as key compositional elements.

Since I don’t use masking  uid, careful

planning is essential. I always make a

value sketch to plan the lights, darks

and mid-tones. If I know where I’m

going before I put brush to paper,

then my painting is far more likely to

remain fresh and spontaneous.

With snow painting, it’s particularly

important to think about the wetness

of the paper and brush. If I want crisp

shadows on snow, I work on dry paper.

A fully loaded brush is critical because

the shadows should be painted in one

big, wet wash. I also think about the

edges of the strokes as I paint. If I use

a big mop brush on rough paper, I can

paint a big area of wet wash that also

has a textured edge that simulates the

edge of the snowbanks.

By contrast, if I paint on a grey day

I’ll often use a wet-in-wet technique,

thoroughly soaking the paper and then

Villeray Sous La Pluie, watercolor, 11 x 15" (28 x 38 cm)
This was painted on a typically messy Montreal day when the snow starts off wet and later turns to rain. I painted from my car using a limited palette of mostly
burnt sienna and ultramarine blue on Arches rough paper. The fi rst few washes were painted with a very wet squirrel mop brush and as I gained detail I switched
to a 1-inch fl at for the bare trees and utility poles. A rigger brush was ideal for the fi ne wires and church details.