With Christmas around the corner (already!?) we’ve got something a little special for you here at Hochanda. There really is something about a snowy landscape that takes you to a magical place, and Matthew Palmer is here to show you how to paint the most wonderful snow scene you could dream of. In this 10 minute watercolour masterclass you will be shown the techniques, step by step, on how to create a masterpiece you will be proud of!
Matthew Palmer, take it away…
I’m working on a 1/4 imperial size watercolour paper (11”x15”), but any size will do. The paper has a NOT surface, this has a texture that allows the paint to flow and captures great detail and texture.
Apply a strip of masking tape (remove some of the stickiness first with your fingers) to the hill and horizon, then with a large size 12 round watercolour brush, wet the sky area. Add a pale ‘Matthew Palmer Natural Red’ to the base of the wet area all the way to the tape. Then a deeper ‘Matthew Palmer Natural Blue’ to the top allow the colours to blend in the middle. The clouds are painted with a grey. This is a mix of all 3 primary colours. Mix a purple and add touches of ‘Matthew Palmer Natural Yellow Light’ to mix grey. Try dabbing off the excess paint on kitchen paper and lightly twist the bush to get the natural cloud shape. All this is applied while the paper is wet.
The trees are also painted while wet and use the same grey as the clouds for the distant trees and a stronger mix of the grey for the larger ones. Swap to a size 6 brushes for these. It doesn’t matter is the background is dry for these tall trees.
Once dry remove the tape, gently otherwise it may rip. Any seepage can be covered up with trees. Mix a violet from the blue and red, pale and on the dry white area, paint the left side of the trackway, then with water, dapping off the excess on kitchen paper, blend to the right. (see greater detail on blending on the video). Do the same from the brow of the hill on the left, blending down. Once dry with the 6 brush, mice a string down from the yellow, red and touches of blue. Use a dry brush technique here to add earth texture to the path way and hill. A dry brush is dabbing off the excess paint on kitchen paper and splaying the hairs of the brush, then lightly skimming the texture of the paper. A smaller brush like a size 2 can be used to add tall grasses etc.
Shop the full collection of Matthew Palmer here