Winter light is characterized by a soft and gentle glow. The low angle of the sun in the sky, combined with the reflective properties of snow and ice, creates a warm, serene atmosphere. Whether it's the golden hour just before sunset or the crisp, clear light of a sunny winter day, winter light has a special quality that inspires photographers, artists and anyone who appreciates the beauty of nature.

Painting Winter Light with Watercolor

Painting skies and capturing the light of a scene are goals that I keep at the front of my mind as a watercolor artist. I return to them time and time again.   

I was attracted to this winter scene because of the warmth in the sky, in contrast with the coolness of the snow and shadow. Once I show you the method I use on this painting, you can apply these skills to any scene that you want to paint. 

Steps to Painting a Winter Sky

What supplies do I use to paint this winter scene?

Brushes:

• A size six large mop brush
• A size 14 medium round brush 
• A size 12 or smaller synthetic brush with a point.

Pigments: 

• Quinacridone Gold
• Raw Sienna
• Rose Madder Permanent
• Alizarin Crimson 
• Lavender
• Cerulean
• Ultramarine Blue

5 Tips for Painting a Successful Winter Sky

1. Add more paint and less water as you move away from the brightest part of your sky. Once you establish where the brightest part of the painting is, you know that everywhere else needs to be a stronger value. 
2. Make the area of the light larger than you think it needs to be at first. What tends to happen is we chip away at the area little by little and the light gets smaller and smaller. So I exaggerate how large the bright area is to give myself some leeway.
3. Add a variety of brush marks in your sky. You want to try and mix in some large, medium and small marks to make your sky appear more natural. And actually, this is a good rule of thumb for painting in general.
4. It's more important to keep the sky fresh than to accurately depict a reference photo. One thing I find as I paint skies is that I reach a point where I stop focusing so much on my reference photo and focus more on what is happening in my painting. I am not going to be able to copy every little nuance, every little change in value. I have to remember that my goal here is to create an impression and not an exact copy of the sky. 
5. Make sure the ground is a lot stronger in value than your sky. Again, we want to keep the light bright, and we do this with contrast. You may even need to glaze over it once it dries to make the value strong enough. 

Related Videos:

Step-by-Step Watercolor Demo: Fall Sunset

How to Paint Glowing Light

Painting Bright Light in Watercolor (a step-by-step tutorial)