Serene Misty Landscapes: Mastering Atmospheric Effects in Watercolors.

1. Introduction: Mist is the soft blanket that gently hides the world, inviting us to see beyond the obvious and find peace in the subtle. In this class. We will embrace the tranquility of misty landscapes, capturing the calm and subtle beauty that mist brings to our scenes. Let's explore how to translate this serene atmosphere onto our watercolor paper. Hi, everyone. I'm Shannon Cuban an artist and art educator based in Bangal India. My paintings are inspired by nature, you'll see a lot of landscapes in my Instagram page, watercours. Do check it out. In this class, we are going to learn two beautiful serene paintings. I'll walk you through all the techniques that will be needed for this class and we'll have some practice sessions as well in order to boost your confidence before moving on to the main class project. We will cover all the essential art supplies needed for this class. While the class is designed for intermediate level it or those with some painting experience, beginners are welcome to join as well. I will guide you through every technique, explaining each step in detail to ensure that everyone can follow along. Remember, every painting tells a story, and together we will create art that speaks to our soul. Without any further delay, let's get started. 2. Art supplies: In this chapter, I will discuss the art supplies that I have used in the class. You can take a look at the supplies and use any similar ones that you already have. First, let's talk about the brushes. I have Bohng, 300 GSM, 100% paper. This is of co pressure, which is neither smooth no ugh. So I had bought a bigger sheet of a A one size, and then I've cut it into smaller sheets of around A four size. So the size of this paper is around 28 centimeters and 28 by 19 centimeters. I like Bohng papers for landscape artworks. It is excellent for the price you pay, and it's touch and feel is nearly as good as premium quality papers. Since this paper is 100% cotton, it retains water for a longer duration that helps to build depth in the painting. Next, let us talk about the brushes. I'll be using these four brushes for the entire class. I have these two similar sized brushes. This is silver ato quill brush of size 80, and other one is Princeton Neptune mob brush of size four. Both are similar in sides, but I used them for different purpose. This one is for color washes and the other one is for water washes to keep the painting neat and clean. The next is for smaller to regular medium brushes. I'm using silver black velvet, size eight brush. Next is a fine liner brush. This is a silver black velvet, size two brush. This is for the fine line painting detailing at the end of the artwork. These are the four brushes that we will be using for the class. Next, let us talk about colors. I have stored my paints in this palette by Mago. I'm using artist gray watercolor paints. We won't need these many colors. We will just use a few colors that I'll mention now. The main colors for this painting is this is paints gray. I've put it here. Then there is this greenish yellow which I've put your. Next is burn siana by Min gold. These are the main colors for the class. Apart from these, I'll also use permanent yellow, yellow, cer and shadow green. Then I will also use crimson and some shades of blue in very small quantity. Next, we would need some napkins. I use around two to three napkins when I paint. One napkin is to place the wet brushes during the painting process. Another one is to wipe off the paints from the brushes and to clean the palette as well. The last one is a clean napkin just in case I need one. Whenever the mixing area gets dirty, I use a damp napkin to clean them for the next mixing. This way, it is easier to keep your palettes clean rather than running back and forth to the sink. To provide support to the paper during the painting process. We need something to pack the paper. Hence, we will use a hard object like a clipboard or any hard surface to tape the paper onto. This will prevent it from buckling or curling up. It will also keep the paper and allow us to move it in any direction to let the paints flow. And to secure the paper. Of course, we would need a masking tape. If you tape the paper directly on the table or on the floor, you will be restricted in your movements and won't be able to move your paper around, preventing water and colors from flowing in different directions. Since watercolor is a very unpredictable and beautiful medium, you need to explore different possible results rather than sticking to one fixed direction. Next, we would need water for mixing the colors and wetting the paper. Here I would be using two small jars of water and one big jar of water. Earlier, I used to use two jars of water, but I always end up using both of them. Now I've started keeping a separate jar of clean water just in case I need clean water during the process. You can also have a napkin handy so that you can wipe off the extra water in the same napkin. We will also need a water spray bottle. I'll tell you why in the upcoming chapter. If you're storing the colors in such palette, you can either use a spray bottle to wet the pains or you could use a pipette like this and drop water. And if you have a hair dryer, please keep it ready so you can paint along with me as I will be drying the paper several times during the painting process. If you don't have one, it's totally fine. You can pause the video, allow the paper to dry and then come back to resume the painting process. And you can keep some small watercolor sheets handy while you're painting to test out colors or practice before starting the main painting. All right. These were all the supplies that I'm going to use in the class. You can go ahead and grab all the similar supplies that you already own. Let's get started. 3. Tones and Values: In this chapter, we will discuss about the tonal values in watercolor painting. Tonal values are the key because they add depth and move to your work. They help us create the illusion of distance and bring different elements into focus. It creates a separation between background and foreground elements. A this is achieved by just one color. Here we have a darker green color. By gradually adding water to the color. You can see we have achieved different tonal values. I'll combine them together making one single strip so that it is easier to explain. This watery tone is called a diluted tone or water down color. This is created by mixing watercolor paint with more water. Next, we have mid tone color, where it falls between the lightest and darkest tone in the painting. Next comes darkest or concentrated tones. You could also call it as thicker paints. This is referred to as deep or shadow tones, mostly concentrated and intense color in your painting. During the class, if you hear me use terms like thicker consistency or diluted consistency. Mid tone consistency. I'm referring to the tonal values of the pain. These terms describe the varying lightness or darkness of the colors we're using. Let's have a closer look at the consistency of the paints. You can see it is very thick and concentrated. It has more paints and less water. Next, for the midtone consistency. It is 50% paints and 50% of water. This tone partially reflects the whiteness of the paper. Lastly, we have diluted tone with less amount of paints and more water. Since this has more water, it reflects the whiteness of the paper. Next, let us paint the pine trees using the corresponding tones. Let's start with most diluted tone. You can keep a napkin handy so that you can wipe off the extra paints. Lighter tones in painting are used to create a sense of depth by simulating distance. It adds softness and airiness. Lighter tone highlights key areas and set a specific mood or atmosphere in the painting. In our painting projects, the lighter tones will be used to depict mist or a sense of distance in the painting. Next up is meton colors. Mton colors are used to create a sense of balance between darker and lighter tones. Imagine your painting only has darker and lighter tone. Then how do you create the transition and balance between the colors? To create smoother transitions between different tones, we use mid tone colors. Now they help define shapes and give structure to the painting, making it more realistic and cohesive. Next, we have the darkest tone where we take more amount of pigments and less water. Dark or concentrated tones are used to add contrast define shapes, create depth in the painting. They make foreground elements stand out and enhance the overall dramatic effect of the artwork. To sum it up, lighter tones are used for background elements or misty effects. Mid tones help create midground elements or smooth transitions between light and dark colors and the darker tones are for the foreground details, emphasizing proximity and adding depth to the scene. 4. Techniques: Primary focus of this class is to paint misty pine trees. Let's learn some techniques that will make the painting process smooth and simple, helping you achieve a more natural and harmonious look in your artwork. Let's start with a very basic watercolor technique, which is wet on dry. Here I am using wet paints on dry paper. Notice how I'm painting the tree shapes, first adding the trunk, and then applying random zigzaggy brass brokes, saving a little space, I'll paint another tree. With this technique, you will get Crisp and the detailed trees. This is. It is wet on dry. We're using wet paints on dry paper. In the next technique, we will first paint the trees using wet on dry, and then to soften the edges, we will apply water on the lower part of the trees. You could also apply water first and then paint the trees. As filler elements, you can simply apply some vertical lines, making it look and dee. Let's call this technique as wet on partially wet paper or surface. In the next technique, we are going to spray water on the paper using a spray bottle. Just tray two or three pumps, no more than that. Now, on this slightly wet area, we will paint the trees. The colors will spread into the damp areas creating a soft feathery effect that results in a beautiful textured tree. Let's call this technique as a sprayed wet surface or sprayed wet paper. Next is a very familiar technique, which is wet on wet. We'll apply water. Soon after applying water, will directly paint on the bet surface. This will result in a smooth blurry trees. The next technique is to apply wet paints on a damp paper. First, we will apply enough water so that the paper absorbs good amount of moisture. Now, using a dry brush, I'm going to lift off the excess water from the paper. This will leave a damp paper. Now, on this damp surface, I'm going to apply the wet paints. This gives us a slightly diffused result. Since the paper is damp, we would be able to control the brush movement. In wet on wet, the paints flow very freely and wet on dry, the paints appear crisp and hard. But in this technique, you will get a combination of both where you'll see a soft diffused look. That was our wet on damp. For the next technique, I'll go with the same method of wetting the paper and then lifting of the excess water. But this time for the paint, I will use thick concentrated paint. Let's take thick and concentrated paint. I'm going to paint some vertical lines and then give them the shape of pine trees. This approach will produce more intense defined edges while still benefiting from the subtle diffusion of the damp paper. This technique was thick paint on damp paper. The next two techniques will primarily be used to create background effects, resulting in runny, flowy, and seamless effects. So we'll apply water very generously and then apply thick paints in whatever shape you like. Move the paper in different direction and see the paints flowing. This can be used on a larger scale to get flowy and seamless backgrounds. Let's name this as thick paints on wet paper. Similarly, for the next technique, I'll be applying water generously and this time, I'll be using diluted paints. Add water to the paints and then apply it on the paper. Now move your paper around in different direction, let the paints flow and create their own effects. This can be used to create a soft atmospheric effect in your paintings. Here, both water and paints should be in runny consistency in order to achieve the seamless effect. The only difference in these two techniques are the consistency of the paints. I hope you had fun experimenting with these techniques. 5. Practice Mist - 1: In this chapter, I'm going to paint a few mini landscapes. I recommend watching the process first to better understand the flow of the painting, then you can paint along with me. This exercise will help you implement the techniques learned, which in turn will boost your confidence before starting the main projects. Let's start our first practice painting, read the paper thoroughly. Next, we will take yellow cer, mix it in a diluted form. I'll apply this diluted color on the lower parts of the paper. This will suggest a warm sense of undertone in the painting. Make sure the paint is very watery. Next, let us take paints gray or you could also take indigo, and I'll paint the pine forest in a distant area. To build distant area or aerial perspective, we need to use cool colors. Paint vertical lines on this wet area. This will suggest the pine forest. Now take a clean brush and blend the color into the paper, creating a seamless transition. Leaving some gap, I'll paint another tree line. This was our first layer. Next let us paint another layer on the same area. By applying multiple layer of colors, you will see a sense of dense appearance in the forest. Once you have applied the colors, next step is to either use a damp brush or you could even use water spray to blend the lower ends of the trees. To avoid any sharp edges, you can apply the spray water and use a napkin or a tissue to wipe off the excess water. Now the paper is watery. In order to lift the excess water from the paper, I'm using a damp brush and a napkin. I'll repeatedly run my brush over the paper to lift off the water. Next, let us mix paints gray and burns a. With this color, I'll be painting the midground elements. L vertical brushes repeatedly into and from motion. Now blend the color. For the rest of the area, I'll use diluted color to create the tree line effect. Next, we will be painting another layer. This time we will paint some detailed trees. Make sure there are no hard edges. Adding in some darker colored trees to bring a sense of variation. Using a clean dam bruh, blend the lower ends of the trees into the paper. Next, I'll use brown and a mix of violet to introduce a different color. You could use any other color of your choice. I'm adding in some trees. And make sure to blend the hard edges at the lower part. For blending, I'll first clean my brush and then using a damp brush. I'll pull the paints down. I'll paint some trees on the left side as well. Blend them well. All right. We'll leave it here for now. This looks quite minimal and serene. Let's move on to the next artwork. Here I'll partially apply water only on the lower area. I'm applying this in a slightly curvy shape. Let the paper absorb good amount of moisture. Meanwhile, let us mix the paint. Now, hold your paper in a tilted position so that the water and the colors that we apply flows down. For the upper area of this box. I'm going to spray water. It would look something like this. Now on this partially sprayed area, I'm going to paint the trees. Hold the paper in a ted position itself. Let the gravity do its job and make the colors flow down. I think I should have the paper on a clipboard. I'm roughly painting some trees. Here my main intention is to show the flow of colors and the hairy texture that you get around the trees. Wow, look at that beautiful flowy effect that we are getting here. You could use a clean brush to pull the paints further down and then move it in different direction so that it appears very seamless. I'm roughly painting this area. Next I'm going to spray some water to continue the flow. Using a napkin, you can wipe off the extra water. On the left side, I'll apply some darker brown color. Even on the lower parts of the paper. Let's add some trees in the bottom area. This is the foreground part. Here we have done wet on wet technique. We can see the edges appearing very diffused. The second one was a very. These two are done. Now let us move on to paint some more mini artworks. M. 6. Practice Mist - 2: Let us practice a few more mini landscapes. L et's paint within these boxes. First, apply clean water thoroughly. Let the paper absorb the moisture. Now, I'm going to take paints gray. And we'll apply the paints depicting the distant tree line in the background. To suggest the shape of the trees, you can apply vertical lines. Now I'm applying another layer of darker color. This adds a sense of depth and blend the lower area so that there is a smooth transition from the blue color into the white color. Next, you can take any green color. I'm using this green and brown mix like olive green color. I'll apply this for the mid ground elements. First layer is some rough patch of color. For the second layer, I'll apply some vertical lines depicting the pine trees. Next, I'll add shadow green to the same color to make it darker green color. Applying this over the same area. This builds a sense of depth. Now on the lower part, I'll apply some diluted tone, and you can see there is a wide space in the center between the midground and the foreground. Next, in the foreground area, I'll paint some tree shapes. Let's go back to the midground area to add some pine trees. This will add a definition to the artwork. You can leave it here for now. Let us move on to the next one. Here, I'm not applying any water. I will directly apply wet diluted paints on the dry paper. Paint any shape of trees you want. Once you're done, use a clean wet brush to pull the paints down, creating a smoother transition. Now, to make the trees appear denser and add a sense of layer, I'll add darker color trees. Blend the colors well into the background. Don't leave any sharp edges. Moving on, we'll add midground tree line. For that, I'm using the green on my palette and a little bit of bird sienna. I've a mix of two colors here. Then pull the paints down using clean brush. You could also lift the extra paints that remains on the paper. I'm holding the brush in a slant position so that the colors flow down in lower direction. Next, I'll add another layer of trees using darker green color. Next I'll switch to burn Cana. Then blend the colors using a clean damp brush. You could also introduce some colors when blending. We will leave it here for now and come back later. Next, let us paint another mini landscape, I'm marking a rectangular boundary for this. Let's prepare the paper for wet on wet technique. You could use a larger brush as well to wet the paper. Here I'm sticking to my size eight brush and that is taking a lot of time. All right, the paper is thoroughly wet. I'll start with the distant tree line. Adding second layer of trees. Use the pointy tip of the brush to paint the vertical lines. Once you're done, blend it into the paper using a clean bruh. Make sure there are no hard edges. I'll apply another slopey area on the left side. Also, adding in some detailed tree shapes, just to give a realistic sense of appearance. Next I'll take a diluted yellow color and apply it on the lower part. This will give a warm undertone for the painting. Next I'll take a brown color. You could take any brown and paint the midground trees. We'll paint most of the mini artworks in a similar fashion. There's no major difference. Adding in some detailed trees. To add a sense of variation, you can use a darker brown color. This adds a sense of depth and extra character to the re line. The important part is to blend the hard edges so that it does not appear. Having a smooth and seamless transition is very important to effect in the artwork. Now using a diluted color. I'm going to paint the tree shapes one by one. Next, going back to the first mini artwork. I'm going to paint some trees. This is wet on dry technique. The paper has dried there. Let's add some trees. I'll also add some trees in the midground area. This will define the appearance of the painting, making it look slightly realistic. Again, you have to blend it with the clean water. You cannot leave any hard edges. First, I added trees with diluted tone. Now the trees are painted with the darkest tone. You could add in any number of trees you want. It's your choice. Next, we'll go back to the second mini artwork, adding details in this time. We'll go with wet on dry technique using wet paints on a dry surface. Paint the tree in whatever shape you want and then blend the lower end of that tree so that you create a smoother transition. Around that area, apply some vertical lines with diluted paints. This will create a filler elements. There is no fixed shape I have in mind. Here my aim is to build another layer of trees to build a sense of depth in the artwork. The right side, I painted trees with burnsana. Now on the left side, I'm using darker green color. Once you're done painting the trees, you can blend the lower ends to create a smoother transition of course. Apply water and allow the paints to flow down. In the foreground area, I'm applying some color in midtone, we'll leave it as it is. If you want, you can add some dry bare trees once it dries. Coming back to our third mini landscape. I'm going to build another layer over this area. Using burn siana and painting the trees. You could use whatever previous color you have used. The approach is quite simple. You paint the trees in any shape you want, and then you blend the lower ends to create a seamless transition. By practicing these mini landscapes, you will gain the confidence needed for the main class projects. The purpose of these exercises was to build that confidence, ensuring you're well prepared for the final challenge. The simplest way to create a tree line is to start by applying vertical brushtrokes, then add in some pine trees here and there in between. Blend them together smoothly and voila. You'll have a neat and natural looking tree line. Next, I'll spray some water to allow the colors to blend and create a natural flow. Next, with the remaining space, I'll draw three rectangular boxes and together we'll paint some simple and easy landscapes. In the first one, I'm applying diluted bca, very diluted paints inside the box, next will take slightly midtone color. Apply the paints and create a gradient effect. Next, I'll take a mix of green and brown. Apply it on the lower area. Here we are preparing for the base of the tree line. We will let the paper absorb the paints and come back once the paper is damp. Meanwhile, let us paint the next box. I'm applying diluted paints partially on the paper, and then on the dry area, I'll paint the trees. The colors when they touch the wet area, it will create a smoother flowy effect. This is a very beautiful technique to create naturally misty effect. Moving on to the next box, I'll apply diluted brown paints on the entire box. Then I'll take thicker paints gray and drop it from the top part. Keeping the paper in a slight tilted manner and allowing the paints to flow down. If it doesn't flow, you can use the brush to guide the paints. Going back to the previous one. Let's take darker color and paint another layer of trees. I'll also introduce foreground layer. Going back to this mini box, the paints here are damp. This will create a nice soft yet crisp died edges if we paint the trees. We have the paints and paper become damp. In the last box, I add smaller trees. The graded effect we created will act as the dark sky. Let's go back to the rectangular box and paint the foreground elements here. I'm using a shadow green color. If your paper has already tried, you could spray some water, making it damp or wet. Here we are painting soft blurry trees. The diluted color suggests a sense of mist in the foreground as well. All right. We have finished painting these mini exercises. I hope you're feeling much more confident about painting the misty forest now. 7. Calming Greens - Painting the base Layers: Let us begin taping down the masking tape. Tape down all the sites giving about a quarter inch border. I recommend you to watch the entire class project first, maybe in a faster setting. Once you watch it, then you can come back and paint along with me. This way, you will understand the flow of the painting in a better way and you will be able to judge your own progress. Once all the sits, run your finger over the edges to make sure it is tightly sealed. Before we begin, I'll use a water spray bottle to moisten my colors. They are quite dry at the moment, making them difficult to reactivate when needed. All right. Next, let us wet the paper completely. I'm using my clean mob brush and applying water throughout the paper. As an alternative, you could use water spray. Run your brush over the paper multiple times to ensure it absorbs good amount of water. Next let us start mixing the colors. Let's take cerulin blue and also paint gray. I'm going to paint the sky. I'm going to load my brush with a mix of these two colors and swiftly apply the colors starting from the top part. Leave some tiny gaps in between. Since the paper is, it creates a n effect. Next, I will mix yellow in a diluted tone using permanent yellow deep and a bit of yellow cer. I'll apply this diluted mix to the lower parts of the paper to create a warm glow in the painting. This will serve as an undertone. There is no need for any particular shape. Just apply the paints randomly. For the next layer, I'll mix crimson and yellow in a diluted tone and apply it around the mid section. This will be the undertone for the trees. Next, I'll apply pines gray right next to the pink shade. This will serve as the undertone for the distant trees. Once the colors are placed, move your board around to let the colors flow smoothly and blend nicely. 8. Calming Greens - Painting the Distant trees: The paper will be still damp or wet. We are not drying it. Now let us move on to paint the distant tree line. Take paints gray, mix it in midtone consistency. Here, I'm using a size eight round brush. I'll mark the basic shape that I want for the distant area. Once you have marked the desired shape, then you can go ahead and add the vertical lines, suggesting the pine trees in the background area. These vertical lines are just rough depiction of the trees. Now to add a sense of realism to the background. I'm giving shape to the trees, my applying zigzag brakes one at a time. Adding in some darker trees in the same area to bring a bit of variation. Next, let us take burn Cana and mix it in a medium consistency. Here, my paper is still damp. If your paper has dried, then use a water spray bottle. Next on this damp area, I'm going to apply the paints as the base layer for the trees. I'll also apply paints as a slight variation. Paint some vertical brush strokes, suggesting the trees. The lower part of the background trees appear a little sharp and patchy. Let's blend it using clean brush. I'm applying water to smooth it out. You could also use a water spray. Using a slightly darker tone of paint gray. I'll paint another layer of pine tree in the background area. I'll paint some pine trees and I'll add filler elements using vertical lines. Since it is away from the viewpoint, it need not have that detailing. Next, I'm going to mix a brownish green color. The complimentary color of green in the color wheel is red. I'm mixing a little bit of red with the green color. This will give me a brownish green color. Now, take this color mix and apply as the next layer of trees in the foreground. First, I'll dab the color and then paint the vertical brush ropes. You could also paint the trees directly. Next, we'll go back to the background area and apply some green in diluted tone. This will create a smooth transition from gray to greenish color, like from background to midground color. We'll have a nice transition. Using clean water, try to blend the colors. While the paper is still damped, let us paint the mid ground trees. Here, I'm using a slightly brownish green. You could add the bird Ciena to the existing green. Paint the trees and again, blend it into the background, create a smoother transition. Moving on, we'll paint some trees on the right side midground area. You could use any green with a warm undertone for that, you could add orange or warm red color. Next, I'll take yellow green and shadow green. Create a mix of it. Now, paint the trees. You could either directly paint the shape of the trees individually or apply vertical lines. Both would work perfectly fine. You don't have to follow the exact same shape or method that I'm following. You can just follow the idea of the tree placement. Currently, we are painting the midground trees. Blend the lower part with clean brush so that there are no sharp edges. The smoother blends create a misty effect. If you feel there's extra water or paints anywhere, then you could use a damp or a dry brush to lift off the paints. I'll add some more vertical lines giving a sense of character to the midground area. 9. Calming Greens - Painting the Trees and Mist: For the next layer of trees, we will use darker green color and paint the tree shapes. Some trees, I'll use vertical brush rokes, and for some I'll apply exactly brush rokes. I don't want the individual trees to pop out, so I'll try to blend them into the background. Take a clean damp brush and pull the paints down. Next, let us move on to the lower midground area. I'll paint another layer of trees. Use a slightly darker green color to distinguish it from the previous layer. My paper is still damp. If your paper has dried, you can use water spray to ret it. Next, we'll return to the background area and lift the paints using a clean damp brush. This technique will create a separation between the background and this green midground area. Now to create the impression of the leaves, lift the paints in zigzag motion. Next, let us move on to painting the background trees on the left side. In this method, I'll show you how to paint the distant background on a dry paper. Your paper doesn't need to be wet in this case. Let's begin. First, I'll use diluted paint gray and apply it with angled brush roe. These vertical lines when grouped together will resemble a forest. Now, using the tip of the brush, I'll define the shape of the forest to make it appear more organic. Now clean your brush and load it with clean water. Apply it around the lower area, blending the colors into the white of the paper. If that is not sufficient, you could use water spray. Blend the colors well. Make sure there are no hard edges or patchy areas. Moving on, we'll apply another layer of trees on the same area. Below this, I will apply the paints using motion to create the impression of mist in the forest. Apply water mist in order to spread the paints and avoid hard edges. In watercolor painting process, one often go back and forth between steps. Sometimes you may need to erase certain elements and add new ones. That's why I recommend watching the entire painting process before following along. This way, you will understand when adjustments are made and when the course of the painting changes. I had initially planned to leave empty spaces between the background midground and foreground. However, I've now decided to connect them to create a more cohesive scene. Adding more colors around the midground area, experimenting with how to blend them seamlessly with the background green forest. S. I often find that my painting style evolves as I work. I might start with a specific plan in mind, but by the end, the painting can look a bit different. During the process, I sometimes change my approach or adjust the reference to improve the outcome. This will be reflected in the painting videos, which might seem a bit confusing at times. I recommend watching the videos and then following along. This way, you'll be prepared for any changes and you can enjoy the creative journey with me. Now in the foreground, I'm adding another layer of trees using color. You can see we have built multiple layers. This is a third layer of trees in the foreground area. I'll again add some trees around midground area by just the brush and applying some vertical brushes. Oh Moving on, we'll take yellow ocher in a very diluted tone. Apply it below the midground area and right above the foreground area. Don't forget to leave the white space empty. This is to suggest a warm glow in the foreground part. Now to blend the colors, I spraying some water. You might wonder, why are we spraying water after just painting the trees. Trust me, this technique helps us build multiple layers and create a sense of depth in the foreground area. Since this area is closer to the viewpoint, it demands more attention and detailing work. I'm going to paint the trees again with the same level of dedication and detail. S. I'll apply some lines and taps as filler elements to avoid having empty spaces in the foreground area. Adding more trees around the left part. To bring variation in color and enhance the warm tone of the scenery. I'm adding burn Siena. O dabbing burn Ciena on the right side as well to add a dash of warm color. Applying darker green color to the base or the bottom part of the painting. This will make the area appear more dense and ima. Now, if you notice the midground and the foreground areas on the right side are already connected. This happened because I sprayed water over those areas. That allowed the colors to blend and merge with the background. If your three areas are still separate and distinguished, that's perfectly fine. Next, I'll flick the brush in upward motion, trying to create some pine trees on the left side. Adding some paints in this empty area to build a sense of continuity. Let's add some definition to the background as well to create a sense of separation. Moving on, I'll paint the tip of the trees with the diluted and I'm going to blend the lower end of the trees into the darker area. 10. Calming Greens - Defining the Tree shapes: In this chapter, I'll focus more on adding four ground trees. Adding the trunk of the tree and then applying zigzaggy brushstrokes, depicting a beautiful pine tree. Let's add some more. I'll keep wearing the color. Here for the next tree, I'll use more yellowish green color. You can also add some brownish colored trees. Wearing the tonal values. For some trees, I'm using very diluted tones. As filler elements, I'll simply apply some vertical lines. You can paint as many trees you want. There's no restriction on the count. I'm not quite happy with how these center trees have turned out. I'm lifting the paints and then I'll repaint the trees. Taking a fine liner brush and painting smaller sized trees in a slightly diluted tone. Adding some more trees in the foreground area using a retailer brush. Next, I'll go back to the background area to add more character to the distant background area. Although it is far away and doesn't need more detailing work, I would still add further layers to it. This is wet on dry. I'm directly applying the paints on the dry area. Once I'm happy with the trees that I've added, I'll then add the water spray and covering the lower part so that it doesn't interfere with the other paints in the mid ground area. H. When you spray water, the paints are going to flow in different direction. You can try to manipulate it by changing the direction of the boat. If you're not happy, you could lift off the paints using a tissue paper. All right. I'll just let this be and not add any further layers. You could let it dry naturally or use a head dryer to speed up the drying process. 11. Calming Greens - Painting Birds & Final details: All the paints have dried completely. Now let us add the final details. I'm going to paint bare and dry trees. I'll use brownish color. First, we'll mark the vertical lines wherever we want to add the trees. Using the tip of the brush to get fine straight lines. Then to add the branches, you can switch to a fine liner brush. Now add the branches in a very irregular manner. Make sure you're not creating any symmetry in the tree branches. The trees should appear organic. That's why you try to paint them in different direction. Paint the trees of different sizes. Add some vertical lines as filler elements. There is no fixed count on the number of trees. We'll add as many trees we want. Splattering the panes, creating a sense of noise in the atmosphere. Now, let us add some birds. To add birds. I'm using brown and paints gray. You could use darker brown or black color. Paint the birds with very minimal pressure on the brush. To control the brushes, you have to apply less pressure. There is no restriction on the placement of the birds. You can place them anywhere you want. Now on the left side, I'm painting birds with slightly diluted tone. This will depict a sense of mist in the atmosphere. Again, around the same area. I'm painting the birds with the slightly darker tone. I love adding birds in my artwork. It is so difficult to stop myself from adding more and more birds. You don't have to add these many birds just because I'm adding it. You do whatever you want to do. All right. So I'm done with this painting. Now, let us remove the masking tape and reveal the final look of the artwork. There you go. This is how the painting has turned out. I hope you enjoyed painting this with me. Do share your projects under the projects, Galore. All right. Now let us move on to our second class project. 12. Gentle Brown Mist - Painting the base layers: I have already taped down the paper. Now, let's get started. Apply loads of water on the paper using a clean mop rash. The wet paper is to perform wet on wet technique for upcoming layers. Apply multiple layers of water so that the paper absorbs good amount of water and remains moist for a longer duration. If you're applying just one layer of water, then the paper will dry up very fast. Wipe off all the excess water on the sides of the paper. All right, we'll stop applying water here and move on to mixing the colors. First, I'll take paints gray. Next, I'll take yellow cer and mix it with a tiny bit of crimson color. Mixing it together, we'll give a peach color. Brush with this color and apply it on the top part to paint the sky. Followed by the paints gray. Next, we will apply diluted tone around the midground area as the base color for the misty forest. Moving my brush into and from motion, creating a zigzag pattern. This helps in even distribution of paints. I'm trying to form the shape of the hills while leaving some blank spaces for the mist. For guidance, you can refer to the final picture attached in the screen. Take a yellow cer and make it in diluted form. I'm applying this over the midground area? This will add a sense of warmth around the misty area. Next take paints gray in diluted form and apply it in the foreground area, which is the bottom part of the painting. Next, I'm adding paints gray around the background hill area. This will create a sense of balance between warm and cool color. I'm adding some yellow on the sky part because I felt on the left side it was quite blank. T. Next, let us take permanent yellow in a mid tone consistency and apply on the misty hill area. I want this hill to have a warm and harmonious undertone. I'm adding hints of yellow and warm tones in the background. Applying multiple layers creates a sense of depth. Gently blend it into the white area. You can use a clean dam rush to lift the excess pains and create a sense of transition. I'll also apply some yellow on the upper area where we have the distant mountain. All right. The base layer is painted. Now, let us dry the paper completely. I'm using my head dryer to speed up the drying process. If you don't have one, then you can wait for the paper to dry and then come back and add the next layers. 13. Gentle Brown Mist - Creating the distant trees: All right. The paper has dried completely. Notice the soft and warm glow. Next I'm going to mix a warm gray color, for which I'll use paints gray and a little bit of yellow ca. Now, paint the mountains using the belly of the brush. Once the shape of the mountain is painted, next, we will apply clean water and pull the paints down, creating a softer transition, which results in a misty effect in the mountain. Switching to a larger brush to create a softer blend into the background. You could either apply water till the bottom part or use a water spray bottle. Applying water like this ensures a seamless transition. Next style makes ultramarine blue in diluted consistency and apply some brush strokes on the mountain area. This will create a sense of atmospheric vibe. Blend it well into the background. Make sure there are no hard edges. Next let us paint the background pine trees. Here I'm using permanent yellow and burn sana. Take this color mix and apply it in up and down motion. This will suggest the background pine trees. Pull the paint down, creating a seamless effect. I'll repeat the same for the mid ground part on the left side of the paper. Apply repeated vertical lines suggesting the pine trees and don't forget to blend the lower part using clean dam brush. Take paints gray and a tiny bit of yellow occur, mix it together to form a blackish color. Now applied in the background to suggest darker colored trees. In order to not have any sharp edges. I'm using clean dam brush to blend and create a misty effect. Right next to this, I'm applying burn ciana. Blend the colors well using a clean damp brush. Move your brush in a circular motion, creating a nice blend into the background. Next, I will add some trees on this area by moving the brush into and fro motion, creating vertical lines. Make sure there are no hard edges. So blend it well using a damp brush. I'll repeat the same on the right side. Adding some more vertical lines, suggesting tree shapes. Use the tip of the brush. It will be easy to create these lines. After adding these vertical lines, let us switch to a fine liner brush to paint more precise trees. I'll use my size two round brush as it has a very fine tip, perfect for detailing work. Paint the tree in irregular shapes and sizes. Moving on, let us paint the trees with a slightly darker color. I've taken Berciana. There is a separate chapter in this class for painting trees and learning the techniques. I hope you have gone through it. Additionally, I'm applying a darker color to create nice variation in the trees. I'm blending these hard edges with a clean dam brush. Creating this transition is very important as it will produce a misty effect in the painting. Again, I'm adding this blackish color to create variation in the set of trees. You have to make sure you don't have any sharp edges. Blend as long as you see no hard edges. Here's a trick. You can use a water spray bottle to disperse the tiny light edges on the paper. I'm spraying water on the left and around center part. The right side of the paper is still Oly wet the areas where it is absolutely necessary. Now, on the dry area on the right side, I'll paint some pine trees using diluted colors. This technique will create the impression of misty trees and enhance the atmospheric mode of the scene. In this painting, I want to show that the foreground is covered with the mist. You will notice that the trees appear lighter in color. You could also switch to another color. For all the trees here, I will use diluted color itself. And around the center, I'll have some darker color, this blackish color and try to blend it with the background. After adding this color, you will notice that the area is enhanced even more than before. To create a misty effect and a sense of depth in the painting. We need to work in multiple layers. Hence, we will be painting the trees a lot of times. So now, I'll add another layer of trees. And to blend the hard edges, you could either use damp brush or your fingertip, just the colors. Painting some more diluted trees in the foreground. I have used paints gray and burn siana for painting these lighter color trees. The paper over here is wet. Hence we get this blooming effect in the pine tree. All right. Now let's the paper. H 14. Gentle Brown Mist - Painting Midground trees: The paper is completely dry. Now let us move on to add further layers. Let's take paint gray and mix it in midtone consistency. Using my fine line of brush, I'm painting trees in the foreground area. For previous layer, I have used lighter diluted tones and For this layer, I am using mid tone color. I lift off the paint using my napkin, leaving behind a lighter colored tree. Next let paint a slightly taller tree. Use the napkin to partially lift off the pains. Go back to the midground area and add some detailed trees around here. To prevent the hard edges on the lower part, I spray water covering the upper area. Start painting the trees from the dry part. You can see as I move to the lower part, the paint naturally starts blending into the paper due to its wetness. You can repaint the same technique and paint multiple trees around this area. Here, I'm using a mix of paints gray and burn siana. This will create a darker blackish color. If you feel the colors you don't blend into the paper, use your fingertip and dab it onto that area. Let's moisten the paper again using water spray bottle, and I'll cover the upper area around the pine tree to keep it dry. Paint some trees on the damp area as well. This will appear as though there are trees inside the misty area. Adding a partially visible tree on the side. Moving on to the foreground area. I'll paint some pine trees using a slightly darker color. Rest of the layer around foreground area will be lighter. Only few trees I'll paint color. This is to enhance the misty effect in the foreground. A few more tiny pine trees. Additionally, I will add some bare trees. Next, I'll add some darker colors to make the foreground appear dense and add a sense of depth. Use clean water to blend the colors into the atmosphere. It should have a smooth transition. Adding some more trees to build visual interest in the painting. Let's try to have a mix of lighter and darker colored trees, mostly lighter color to depict the mist in the foreground area. Oh. Now, let's add some branches to the bare trees. You can paint any number of trees here, but make sure to have a balance of lighter and darker trees. I'll go back to the midground area and add some trees using diluted colors. You could also apply some filler elements. It's up to you. Oh. 15. Gentle Brown Mist - Painting Final trees and Birds & Conclusion: We are done painting the trees. Now let us add some birds. For that, I'll mix paints gray and bircana. Mixing these two will create a darker brown color. Now let's paint the birds, freely flying in the sky. Press your brush against the paper, creating these angular brush ropes. As always, I'm going to add a lot of birds in my artwork. I'll paint mostly bigger birds in the foreground area and smaller birds in the distant area. I'll also paint some birds with diluted color depicting the sense of mist. Here, on top portion, I'll add some birds and then lift off some paints, making them lighter in color. All right, we are done with this. Let's feel of the masking. There you go. This is how the painting has turned out. I'm really happy with the outcome. Do share your artworks with me under the projects gallery. I really look forward to see your artworks. Thank you for joining my class and showing your support. Your encouragement means a lot to me. I'll see you in my next class until then, bye bye.