Paint Frozen Snow in Watercolor: A Fun & Enriching Class for All Levels

1. Welcome to the class - Your project: Before we begin with the class, I want to thank you for joining me today. Let's discuss our project. In the resource section, you'll discover my completed painting as a helpful reference, along with pencil drawing that you can trace. You have the freedom to select your own object to paint or to closely follow my painting as a guide. Additionally, you'll find a reference photo and a selection of other images that can serve as inspiration for your very own artwork. It's a great pleasure for me to give my students feedback. So after you put so much effort on your artwork, why not share it? You can do it by taking a photo of your painting and share it in the Student Project Gallery under the project and Resources tab. I'd love to hear all about your painting process if you had any difficulties or what was the most enjoyable part of the painting process. Upload your artwork by clicking Submit project on the project and Resources tab. Upload a cover image. It can be your artwork photo, but it will be cropped. No worries. You can upload a full photo father. Share your thoughts about the class and your painting process. Under the field where you write, you can find three small icons. Click on the first one, image, and upload your artwork. You can see your photo appearing under your text. Scroll to the top and click on the button published to share your project. If you have any struggles or questions during the class, please start a discussion and I will be sure to answer your questions. I highly encourage you to explore the work of your fellow students in the student project gallery. Viewing other creations can be truly inspiring, and also to receive support can be incredibly reassuring. Therefore, please consider engaging by liking and leaving comments on each other's project. If you find this class too easy or too difficult, you can choose from my different classes available for learning varied watercolor skills. The approach of my classes is to start with an easy wash. As we proceed with the painting, step by step, we will add more details completing the artwork. Remember to hit the follow button next to the class title just below the video. By doing so, you'll stay updated and be among the first to receive updates on my upcoming classes and exclusive giveaways. Also, you can see my latest free watercolor tips and tutorials by following me on Instagram and YouTube. 2. Get started - Materials, How to prepare your paper correctly for painting: No. The drawing is ready, so let's discuss the two special materials we'll be using in this class. The first is a white oil pastel or wax crayon. I'm using one from Royal Talents Van Gogh, as it works perfectly with watercolors. The second is a natural sponge. We'll be using the oil pastel to draw highlights on the upper edges of the frozen snow capturing the bright sunlight. For brushes, you'll need a round fine tipped brush and a few smaller detail brushes. A broad flat brush can also be useful for wetting the paper. Let's start by drawing an uneven line with the oil pastel along the top of the snow patches. If you don't have an oil pastel, a simple wax candle works just as well. Here, I'm using a small piece of an old candle. It creates the same effect. You likely have one at home too. Using the edge of the candle, I'll draw a few bright lines and add small patches of snow resting on the twig above the leaves. Wet your brush and thoroughly saturate the paper with water. Use a fine brush to carefully wet the area around the leaves, keeping them dry until we are ready for the background. Brush in different directions to evenly distribute the water. At this stage, the paper should be very wet. You'll see it glistening with water. Note that the lines made with the oil pastel or wax candle remain dry. To properly prepare the paper, dry your brush with a tissue. Then lightly brush over the surface to absorb excess water. Repeat the process drying your brush frequently. Once done, absorb how the paper looks now. Damp with a soft mud finish. This is a perfect stage for painting. 3. Painting - The background, Snow & Twigs: The paper is perfectly damp, so we can start painting right away. Begin with yellow ochre, covering the top area of the paper to create a warm sun effect. Then add ultramarine blue in random patches, including over the drawn snow areas. Introduce burnt sienna here and there, allowing it to mingle slightly with the blue. Use less water when picking up pigment to maintain a creamy consistency. Apply more blue, partially blending it with other colours on the paper. Add a bit more blue to cover the surface. If you accidentally touch the reserved white as with colour, you can easily lift it with an almost dry brush, gently rubbing the spot until the paint disappears. Playfully, add some more yellow ochre to the background. The bird sienna will create beautiful warm stains as it dries. Increase depth and contrast, at most saturated blue in the lower area. Mix ultramarine blue and burn sienna to create a darker shade. Now take a paper tissue or a paper kitchen towel, crumple it into a dense shape and gently blot the paint from the snow patches. When the tissue becomes too saturated, sweet to a fresh area and continue lifting the paint until all the snow areas are clean. Note that the paper is not bright white, but softly tinted next to the crisp white highlights created with the crayon. Next, while the background is still wet, paint the twigs to achieve a soft blurry effect. Start with the light mix of yellow oak and burn sienna. Then darken the remaining twigs with a deep black brown, mixing black and burnt sienna. Apply the strokes with a pointed tip of the brush. Holding the brush further from the point and relaxed will help to achieve loose strokes. The strokes will be slightly blurred into the background and serve as a background for the outline twigs later in the process. Now let's enrich the background with burnt sienna. Gradually add molt to marine blue, mixing it partly with burnt sienna. We need the background to be darker around the snow patches for more contrast. Add a deeper blue from a blue black mix as well. This is also the perfect time to introduce light accents, lift small circular highlights with the tip of an almost dry brush, or add water droplets to create soft blooms. If any areas bleed too much, use a dam brush to lift excess paint. Then dab with the tissue to prevent further spreading of the paint. Thoroughly dry your artwork using a hair dryer to speed up the process. Now, let's use a sponge to create textured accents in the snow. Wet and squeeze the sponge, then dab it onto the paint. Lightly press it onto the snow patches to create natural textures. Repeat the process for the remaining snow patches, adjusting the tone as needed. For a striking contrast, mix black and burn sienna to create a dark brown and paint the twigs. This will make the white snow stand out beautifully. Oh, no. Use the light to brown, mixing burnt sienna with yellow Ocha for twigs that catch sunlight. To make the painting feel more magical, lift small bokic circles using the tip of a damp brush. Then dap with a tissue to create soft glowing highlights. Scatter a few of the effect throughout the painting for a subtle sparkling touch. And that's it. You frost covered twigs painting is almost complete. 4. Finishin touches - Painting leaves, Completing the artwork with fine details: It's time to complete our painting with two golden brown leaves glowing in the sunlight. Start by covering the first leaf with yellow ocha. Then using burnt sienna, add subtle color variations. Introduce a touch of black into the burnt sienna to create dark brown spots for texture. Repeat the process for the second leaf. Now take your finest brush and using dark brown, pin dellicate hair thin veins on each leaf, applying gentle strokes with the very tip of the brush. To enhance the texture, low to fine brush with a mix of blue and brown, then tap it against another brush to create delicate splatters across the painting. For an extra highlight effect, you can also add a few white paint splatters. Finally, leaf tiny highlights from the leaves to make them shimmer in the sunlight. Congratulations. You've completed the sunny winter artwork. I hope you enjoyed the class and fot inspiring. I look forward to seeing your beautiful paintings in the project gallery. See you soon.