How to paint a sunrise landscape with a waterbrush.
I love painting with waterbrushes. They are now the only brushes I use, even in the studio. They easily create graded washes (an application of paint that transitions from more intense pigment to a pale tint) which I find everywhere in nature. As you paint, the pigment in the brush gets used up but the brush stays wet by capillary action creating a tint of the original color.
Here I use a large, fine point, Pentel Aquash brush. This is my go-to brush for most of my painting. If you have another brand or size brush consider getting this one. The Pentel brush snaps to a sharp point, allowing you better control of your painting. It is also large enough to make a reasonable wash. The smaller ones require you to constantly recharge the brush.
Click on the first image to start a step-by-step slideshow. Download Worksheet.
I like to start my field sketches with pencil. There is enough going on when paint hits the paper and it is great to have some guidelines.
Paint a graded wash of orange across the sky, overlapping the distant hills.
Once the sky is dry, create a light purple-gray wash across the distant mountains, again fading the base into the next range of hills.
Repeat this procedure with a slightly darker version of the same paint. The pale base of the first wash now creates mist rising in the valley bottom.
Continue through the closer hills, adding one layer at a time.
On this hill, add a little texture to the edge with the brush tip to suggest taller trees along the ridge.
With a dense mixture of paint, add the trees in the foreground. The hills and the foreground were painted with Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue and Winsor Violet. These pigments allow you to get deep values without resorting to opaque blobs of paint. You can use them any time you need to push your value range in a painting.
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