Welcome back to Virtual Room 13. Here is my next project, ‘Landscape watercolour’. It is recommended for P3-7 but as always, everyone is welcome to give it a try.
What you’ll need for this project:
✅ a piece of A3 / A4 paper
✅ a jar of water
✅ brushes (of different sizes if possible)
✅ some water colours – red, yellow, blue, black, white
✅ tissue
First, (with a landscape position for your paper) create a green colour mixing blue and yellow and draw a line about mid way through your paper like this.
Now roughly mark the middle of the line and draw diagonal lines coming away from this point making a triangle shape. This does not have to be perfect!
Now, create a misty yellow / green tone and build up darker to lighter as you rise up to the horizontal line. I’ve used a medium flathead brush but you can use whatever you have to hand.
It should look something like this.
Next, create a light blue and start on the sky – remember to leave spaces for the clouds ☁️
It should look something like this.
Next, take a deep blue colour and brush a jagged line just above the horizon.
Make sure you leave the lower part of the blue slightly lighter by just adding water (not too wet though, dab some water off on your tissue)
Now, at the bottom sketch on some shadowy trees using a black / blue colour. You should still be able to see some of that lower light!
Now, create a grey tone by mixing black and white. Build up from the bottom slightly darker to lightest right at the top!
It should look something like this now.
Next, mix up a darker grey tone and start building this on to the clouds.
Add some purples and differing blues to add some mood.
Now, mix up a mellow green and create some sense of foreground walking up in to the distance like this.
Add some extra tone on to the foreground – including some lines on the cornfield to add a sense of depth.
Now it’s taking shape!
Add a wee bit more tone to our moody sky!
Next, take a smaller brush and add some different colours to create finer details of grass and flowers etc.
Add some black to the bottom of the distanced trees – this will give more sense of depth!
Darken the bottom of the path with more grey. Be sure to build up dark to light as before.
Add some finishing touches to define the tips of the trees.
And there you are! Make sure to experiment with different colours to add character to your sky! As ever, please do share you paintings 🖼 with us ( admin@gilmerton.edin.sch.uk or @GilmertonPS) I really look forward to seeing how they go!
Keep creating!
Mr Briginshaw
Gilmerton Primary School 