In this class, I will teach you how to paint any scene in watercolour, by simplifying it into 3 simple steps. To learn this skill, we are going to paint a simple scene from the Himalayan mountainside. A tiny house in the mountains is a scene most of us can relate to. When hiking in the Himalayas, such picturesque, isolated houses on the mountain slopes are a common sight. They are away from villages and serve as a summer home when tending the family orchard.

Our reference photograph itself is well composed. The house is situated at 1/3 of the frame both vertically and horizontally. There is lovely warm afternoon light, falling on the foreground. The trees on either side of the composition direct the viewers attention to the house with lush mountains rolling into the distance. In this class we are going to practice breaking down a scene into large, connected shapes of similar tonal value. We will then proceed to paint each of these shapes starting from the light to dark.

I use a similar technique for all my paintings, be they animals or landscapes. If you enjoy my style of painting but have found my other classes difficult to attempt, this class will be perfect for you.
As with all my classes, we shall use confident, bold, and playful brushstrokes. We shall embrace happy accidents and find joy in the unpredictability that the medium of watercolor affords us.

On completing this class, you will gain familiarity with the following topics:

How to simplify and abstract reference images when composing a painting
How to identify and work with tonal values
How to paint using multiple transparent layers
How to use a combination of wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry painting techniques
How to paint any subject in a simple and confident style

This class is suitable for students of all levels. For beginners, it will introduce you to the basic principles of planning and executing a landscape painting. For the more experienced artist, it will add to your repertoire of painting styles.
It is also ideal for anyone wanting to combine their love for the natural world and the medium of watercolour. Techniques learnt in this class can easily be applied to painting plein-air and UrbanSketching. I would encourage anyone interested in travel, hiking, nature journaling, outdoor painting and folks who want to pick up a fresh, experimental approach to watercolour to give this class a go.

Materials & Resources

Materials I have used are as follows:

Cold press watercolour paper, 100%cotton, 14” x 10”

Assortment of artist grade watercolours, white gouache

Round brushes size 12, 8, 6. Rigger size 4. Flat Brush 25mm

Pencil & eraser

2 Jars of water

Tissue paper/Kitchen roll

Small spray bottle

Natural sponge

Drawing board

Tin box

You do not need to stick to this list. You can get an excellent result by using any similar materials you have available and are familiar with. All references and paintings shown in the class can be downloaded from the resources section for this class.

Aniruddha Gupte

Urban Sketcher & Wildlife Artist

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