Follow This Full-Length Tutorial to Paint a Colorado Landscape

Learn to Paint this Colorado Landscape

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What Supplies Do You Need to Paint This Landscape?

Today I show you step-by-step how to paint this scene. I discuss values, timing, and color mixing.

I am painting on Saunders Waterford Cold Press 140lb paper, and I have my surface tilted to 35 degrees.

I use a variety of brands of brushes, but I mainly stick to a large mop, medium round, and smaller synthetic brush with a point.

Here is a list of the pigments on my palette:

• Burnt Sienna
• Cadmium Red
• Cadmium Yellow Medium
• Cerulean Blue
• Cobalt Blue
• Cobalt Teal Blue
• Cobalt Turquoise
• Lavender
• Neutral Tint
• Payne's Gray
• Quinacridone Gold
• Raw Sienna
• Raw Sienna Light
• Raw Umber
• Rose Madder Permanent
• Ultramarine Blue 

Step-By-Step Watercolor Painting

First Wash - Lightest Values

Second Wash - Finding Connections

Third Wash - Darks and Details

Using the Three-Step Watercolor Process to Paint Landscapes 

For the great majority of my paintings, this is the process I use - painting from light to dark in three steps. Having a clear plan to follow helps you focus and tolerate the fluidity of watercolor painting. It also prevents you from becoming inpatient about the progress you're making when you can remind yourself of the smaller goals along the way. 

I hope that following along on this tutorial will demonstrate to you the power that creating a full spectrum of values has on a painting.

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