Winter is an amazing and (we will not be afraid of this word) fabulous time of the year! Nature is radically transformed, a person has a unique opportunity to see it from a completely new perspective. However, drawing a winter landscape is not an easy task. After all, I want the picture to turn out to be truly lively. And to cope with this is often beyond the power of even more or less experienced artists.
The main rule when painting landscapes is to use only high-quality paint and paper. But if the inspiration came to you all of a sudden, and at hand there is only a cheap album, the sheets of which come from the slightest contact with water and “waves”, and a simple children's watercolor - this does not mean at all that drawing a standing winter landscape will not work. Using special techniques, even wet paper can remain even during drawing.
If you do not have free means to buy high-quality watercolors in the art salon or you simply do not have time for this, do not worry. The usual set of “honey” watercolors will come down completely. Also, you do not need to spend money buying a set of a huge number of shades - most of them can be obtained by mixing the available colors on the palette.
The winter landscape should give the impression of fragility and tenderness. Therefore, it is better not to use ready-made colors, but to look for some interesting combinations of them. Believe me, the result will be worth the time spent! The golden rule of winter landscapes states that there should be 2-3 primary colors. For example, olive and gray-blue are very good for this purpose. Other colors should be obtained by mixing the main shades with other paints. Due to this, the picture will look much more realistic.
Before starting work, moisten a sheet of paper on which you are going to work. At the same time, you can draw the sky. For winter landscapes, pale gray-blue and bluish shades are best suited - against their background the snow looks especially wonderful!
What will decorate your winter landscape? Of course, trees! In order to draw them, you don’t need to take charcoal-black paint: let everything look just like that in reality, but your task is to present the reality that has passed through the prism of your perception. What color can draw trees and shadows? The optimal shades are red-brown-copper. However, do not limit your imagination - you yourself create a winter fairy tale! The same paint (perhaps a little lighter or darker) can depict trees on the horizon and hills.
Have our trees already dried up? Fine, now you can proceed to the image of the foreground. For bushes, old grass, etc. You can use different shades of brown. The whole picture is worth “powdering” with white watercolor. In some places, you can slightly shade the snow with other colors - so it will look much more picturesque.
After you have finished work, you need to put the drawing in a stack of thick books for at least a week. So, the paper will remain flat, and after a while you will be able to re-evaluate the quality of work and correct some defects if necessary.
If you have not yet had to paint winter landscapes, it is not at all necessary to immediately get out to the open air. Went through the forest or park, inspired? Found a suitable winter landscape? Many of you probably have photos of something like this. And as a rule, it’s much easier for beginners to draw from photographs than from nature. The main thing is to feel the real winter magic, and then you will surely succeed!
Success in creative work!