Easy Mountain Landscape Workshop – Introduction
In this easy mountain landscape workshop, you’ll learn how to paint mountains, buildings, trees, and light.
This was my first attempt at painting this scene, and I wanted to portray a strong sense of light and shadow on the buildings.
I wanted to contrast the abstract shapes and textures of the mountains with the structure of the buildings. The light on the buildings was added first with some quinacridone burnt orange mixed with hansa yellow medium. I also added some soft shadows and cool colors onto the base and left side of the buildings.
Whilst the buildings were still slightly damp, I added the background mountains and trees with some undersea green, ultramarine blue, goethite, and burnt umber. Water down this mix first and add this to the paper, then drop in the darker paint so that it moves around and forms some darker, yet soft edges.
I tried to preserve some light on the trees near the base of the buildings. I did this by remembering to leave in the lighter parts whilst adding in the darker textures of the mountains. Using a scrunched-up tissue is also a great tool that allows you to lift some paint and create the illusion of light here.
The shadows on the buildings are quite important as they bring out the light on the sides and tops of the buildings. Make sure you don’t go too dark for the shadows and use a lighter mid-tone.
Gouache is great for finishing off paintings and adding some extra details and light onto the buildings. In this scene, I’ve mixed some white gouache with yellow to add in the top pointed sections of the buildings and some additional highlights in the lower part of the buildings. I’ve also added a little gouache into the mountains too.
