Paint Switzerland in Watercolor – Introduction
Want to learn how to paint Switzerland in Watercolor? Here’s a loose scene that I painted of Sagogn, Switzerland in a live workshop.
Whilst I felt that I could have improved the buildings by paying more attention to the light and shadows – especially for the buildings on the right, I really liked the foreground and background. The soft textures paired with sharper marks really make this one look quite interesting.
The trick is to be patient with the wet-in-wet effects. You need to start with a very light layer of paint. In this case, I used some undersea green, which granulates out beautifully to form some grass-like textures.
While the paint dries, you slowly introduce in some darker greens with a smaller brush, and also some of the gouache to create some soft round shapes to indicate flowers.
Once the paint becomes damp, you can use a plastic card or the edge of a knife, to scratch out details in the grass area. I’ve done this here to indicate some lighter strands of grass. Once this area has completely dried, make sure you also add some darker strands of grass with a small round brush. I use a fan brush which saves time, rather than painting each individual blade of grass.
The trees and mountains in the background were achieved with a similar effect, minus the scratching out. Always carry a small spray bottle with you, as this allows you to rewet areas quickly without forming large blooms. It allows you to soften areas of the landscape and create a subtle, speckled effect. See the section of distant mountains to the left.
