Ten tips to paint landscapes with watercolor

Ever wondered how to go about painting a watercolor landscape? Painting a watercolor landscape is about more than copying nature. You don't just want to show a mountain; you also want to capture a mood and really express how that gorgeous scenery makes you feel. Painting a watercolor landscape can definitely be daunting when an artist is just starting out with this medium, especially due to its fluidity and transparency. In this article, talented artist Dudi Berkowitz Chicago will take you through his complete process, one-step-at-a-time. He will also share some of his personal tips and tricks that allow him to create specific textures, depth and dimension.

The beginning of the landscape: Before starting to paint the landscape, Dudi Berkowitz Chicago recommends to test colors on a support other than the painting. In this way, it will be possible to have a more complete idea regarding their final form.

The recommended landscape theme: Landscapes represent one of the most common motifs for those starting out in the world of watercolor. They are highly recommended for their simplicity. This is largely due to the fact that they usually contain unspecific shapes, which do not require too much precision.

Start of the sketch in the landscapes: It is advisable to start from the horizon line, then you must sketch the largest elements such as mountains, rocks, trees and vegetation. The next step is to paint the sky. For this, the upper part of the plane of the painting can be painted in dark blue and the color is degraded until it reaches the lightest blue that must be approaching the horizon.

Color in landscapes: If the landscape has a superposition of colors, the warmest color must always be applied first. Then continue with this premise successively.

Shadows in the landscape: If you want to darken a part of the landscape, you should not apply black. What you need to do is add a somber hue within the color wheel to darken. In this way, the luminosity can be balanced without major inconveniences.

Reflections in the landscape: Many times landscapes must capture reflections or transparencies. This happens for example when you have to paint glass or a water mirror. To achieve a good reflection effect, there is nothing better than resorting to a range of grays or whites, especially to indicate that there is a transparent element.

The water in the landscape: If the landscape will have a lake or mirror of water that it will reflect, it should be borne in mind that the bluish tone should have an effect on the figures behind it. Thus, for example, if there is an element in the background that is yellow, it should be changed to a soft green.

Figures in the landscape: When painting a landscape, visual perception is one of the points where more attention must be paid. The figures in the background do not have to show strong nuances or very striking colors. As much as you want to highlight elements such as mountains, the best thing is to blur or degrade them as appropriate.

The focal point in the landscape: Every landscape must have a center of interest or focal point. If all the objects that make up a landscape have the same importance, they will create ornate and confusing landscapes. To prevent this from happening, you have to choose a certain area or element of the painting that will dominate the rest, capturing the viewer's attention, and you can find, for example, two other secondary elements that support the first.

Landscape composition: Composition rules help create a harmonious landscape. This is because everything in nature obeys certain geometric / mathematical patterns, from this premise the different composition rules have emerged.