Paint the background behind the vase with the original colours and more Titanium White.  The red in the middle is Cadmium Red and the white on the right has a little blue.  Apply roughly and by applying around the objects the background, or negative space, helps to create greater depth and 3D on these.

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Start to develop the lights and darks on the vase.  For the whites use less ultramarine blue.  For darks use titanium white, ultramarine blue plus a small amount of burnt umber and yellow ochre.  This allows for the background to be reflected in the shadow.  As the vase is reflective, your colours are not blended flat but can be left slightly uneven to display this.  The blue on the vase is as before but with more light and dark variation.

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Stage 2

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When we start learning how to draw and paint, as with any new endeavour we tend to be very cautious and tight.  With painting, I recommend learning to paint freely and over time to control and direct this freedom rather than starting to paint strictly.  Given that both approaches are necessary at different stages, in my experience those who start loosely tend to find it easier in the longer term to adapt to both approaches.  So, to help this here are a few tips and I've shown below a recent demonstration I did for my students putting these tips into practise:

1) Use a larger brush - this way you cannot be too detailed but rather more suggestive.  Also, you can feel more confident with a larger brush, making more immediate strokes.

2) Simplify your composition - don't feel compelled to put in everything you see.  Focus on what is important.

3) Change your palette - not alone does this allow you to be more experimental with colour but using different colours changes how you see or expect to see your composition.

4) Paint at arms length and if painting from a photograph place it further away so that it is not easy to distinguish detail.  This way, you can focus on tonal shapes, light & dark.

5) Use a painting knife.  Unlike a brush, you don't have the same control.  It is a great way to play with paint and convey liveliness of application.

6) Place a time limit from start to finish.  This forces you to apply only the most important elements

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vi) Now we start to strengthen our lights.  Start with the sunlight area and using more white with the cadmium yellow pale, strengthen this area.  Follow this through the darker yellow and orange areas each becoming a little brighter and more vibrant by adding more cadmium yellows and red.  Using the same bright white yellow, highlight the under side of the clouds on top.  A small amount of this colour can also be blended into the bottom of the blue, just above the dark cloud.  This creates the effect of the light spreading up behind the clouds, defining the idea of the silhouette.


vii) Once more, go back into the sunlight area and with mostly white and a touch of cadmium yellow pale build up with a heavier amount of paint.  Using this same colour add a 'silver lining' to the top of the large dark cloud and the left hand side.


Finish off with some reds and oranges blended into the clouds and some bright yellos and oranges between the bottom clouds.



Remember that this is a difficult sky to paint and may require several attempts to get it right but it will be worth it.
Enjoy your creativity
Best regards
Phelim

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To start, we will block in colour in each area.  These basic colours give us a good understanding of the dynamic  & influence that they will have on one another.  Remember, it is important to keep your colours bright and vibrant in order to capture luminosity, so maintain an individualistic approach in each area.  At this stage we are not blending as we will do that in the following stages.
i) For the violet clouds use ultramarine blue, Alizarin Crimson or Permanent Rose & a little Titanium White.  Note that the dark clouds at the bottom are slightly lighter.
ii) For the space where the sun is I used Cadmium Yellow Pale and Titanium White.  As the colour gradually strengthens to the left and right of this I added more cadmium yellow pale and then some Cadmium Red to intensify to orange on the right hand side.  While I had this orange I loosely added a little to the bottom of the large cloud to start seeing the reflective influence of the sun.
iii) For the light clouds on top, I used the Titanium White and Cadmium Yellow Pale.
iv) For the blues use Windsor or Ultramarine with Titanium White.  Note that the sky is darker at the top so less white is used here.  Once again, to start the reflective influence I added some gentle touches of Cadmium Yellow Pale and White to the bottom area of the blue.

As this is the first stage, you can apply your colour loosely and don't be afraid to let some of the Burnt Sienna wash come through.


v) Now, with a clean, dry brush gently blend the edge of each colour area together.  This gentle blending will maintain the individual colours and luminosity while also creating a softer, more cohesive effect.


Next week I will move into the next stage of depth & blending.

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Painting a sunset is quite difficult because you are using a range of colours that you are not readily familiar with.  Oranges, yellows, blues and violets are combined to create a dramatic and luminous quality of light.  It is this combination that is difficult to control as you need to maintain the individuality of each colour area while at the same time allowing the influence of the light across the sky with subtle blending.  The following sky is painted onto a canvas washed with Burnt Sienna.  From there, outline the shapes of the clouds.  This helps to divide up  your sky and separate the indivudal colour areas.  Next week I will paint this sky step by step with images and text that you can follow along easily.

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4) The fence posts are made up of yellow ochre and alizarin crimson for lights, and ultramarine blue with a little burnt umber for darks.
5) The tree trunks are wet on dry with burnt umber, ochre and crimson, with darker shadows of burnt umber and ultramarine blue wet-into-wet.
6) The bare brances are suggested with a dry on dry technique, with ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson.
7) Finally, with a detail or rigger brush, using some violet (ultramarine & crimson) and green (blue & yellow) stroke in from bottom to top suggestions of long grass at the base of the posts and lines going to the vanishing point to create more depth and suggestion of texture.
Phelim 

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1. The sky is made up of Wet-into-Wet and Wet-into-Dry.  I applied a wash of Yellow Ochre loosely around the sky and while it was wet I dropped in some Ultramarine Blue.  For this composition, as with all watercolour paintings, it is imperitive that you keep it fresh by letting the white paper work for you to create space aswell as light.  Here it represents not only the snow but also suggestions of light in all other areas including the sky.  2. Background bushes are a combination of distant bushes made up of Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson, while the middle ground bushes are Ultramarine Blue with Lemon Yellow.
This is also done as a combination of Wet-into-Wet and Wet-into-Dry.

Next week we will tackle the foreground and the trees and fence posts.

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Waercolours are a wonderful, expressive and versatile medium.  However, some people make the mistake of thinking that they are an easy medium to master.  This is not necessarily true.  Initially there are four basic techniques that you need to get to grips with - 1) Wet into Wet 2) Wet into Dry 3) Dry into Dry and 4) Dry into Wet.  For a quick introduction / demonstration of each of these techniques have a look at my video tutorials page.

Also, look at the 'snow scene' in this section, below.  It shows you each of these techniques and how to capture them in a simple but effective landscape.  Over the next few weeks I will explain to you how to paint this section by section.


In the meantime, prepare your paper by taking it out of the pad and attaching it to a board with masking tape.  This method is okay for this composition as it doesn't have a lot of wet into wet so the paper won't buckle and cockle.  However, it is always best to pre stretch your paper and for this technique again you can go to my video tutorials page.

Start with a simple outline sketch in pencil (HB or 2B only).
Next week, we will start with the sky.  Until then, best wishes
Phelim

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