How to Paint a Watercolor Field Landscape for Beginners

Watercolor Fields are excellent as a subject for beginners, you can practice the fundamental techniques without worrying about the complexity of the scene.

In this tutorial, I’ll break down step by step how to paint a watercolor field landscape using simple techniques so you can paint along with me!

Let’s get started…

Materials used:

• 300gsm watercolor cold pressed paper
• Watercolor round brush: size 12 (this may vary on the size of paper you choose to use and the brand of the brushes)
• Flat brush size 1/2
• Hb pencil, eraser
• 2 jars of water
• Paper towel
• Masking tape & painting board
• Watercolor paint: Cobalt blue, burnt sienna, Rose Madder, Cadmium yellow, Lemon Yellow, Paynes Gray

Color scheme:

The sky:

• Gray mixture: Cobalt blue + Burnt sienna + touch of Quinacridone rose

Field:

• Light green: Cadmium yellow + touch of lemon yellow + Cobalt blue
• Medium green: Cadmium yellow + Cobalt blue
• Dark green: Cadmium yellow + Cobalt blue + touch of Paynes gray

Techniques used:

Before we begin the tutorial, let me break down the different watercolor techniques used in this tutorial and their effects:

We start off with a wet into wet sky, creating those soft diffused edges. Next is to paint the background mountain very small and the same color as the sky to add depth.

To paint the field I started with the wet on wet technique and then layered on top with wet on dry and dry brush techniques to add texture and definition.

You can see this in the labeled diagram below:

Video tutorial

I know some of you prefer video format to written format for these tutorials, so I’ve included both versions!

Here’s the step by step video version:

Watercolor Field tutorial step by step:

I didn’t use a background sketch for this painting aside from drawing a simple horizon line. You can outline the mountain if you’re worried about it being uneven.

Just make sure that you use an HB pencil, draw lightly, and do this:

• Place the horizon line and the mountains a little bit below the middle of the paper. (reference)
• If you draw the mountains, make them nice and small so they seem farther away (more depth).

1: Painting the Sky

The first step is to paint the sky! For this, I used a mixture of cobalt blue and burnt sienna with a small touch of rose madder. Keep adjusting the mixture until you get a nice gray.

Make sure the paint mixture isn’t too watery and you have a large enough puddle for the whole sky.

It’s best to mix the colors before you start, to avoid running out of time.

Start by wetting the sky with enough clean water, just above the mountains. Let the paper absorb the water for a few seconds then start painting the clouds from the top of the sky.

You’ll want big fluffy clouds at the top and smaller clouds as you move towards the horizon. I enjoy using circular brush strokes to get this effect:

2: Background mountains

The mountains are quick and easy! You want to make sure the sky is dry then go in with your brush and paint the mountains.

Use the same color as the sky, just make sure the mixture is thicker and more concentrated.

Glide your brush across the horizon line like so:

If there are any hard edges between at the edge of the sky you can use a damp brush to soften them out.

3: Background of the grass field

Now for the best part: Painting the watercolor field!

Colors used:

• Lemon Yellow + Cadmium Yellow
• Lemon Yellow + Cadmium Yellow + Cobalt blue

I started by wetting the field area with clean water then going in with a mixture of Cadmium yellow and a touch of lemon yellow.

Add a little Cobalt blue to the mixture and paint some lines and streaks as you move down.

Keep adding a little more cobalt blue as you move downwards.

Finally, add a touch of Payne’s gray to get a dark green, and add some wet into wet streaks along the bottom of the field.

While the dark green paint is still damp, switch to the flat brush and very gently pull the paint upwards so it looks like grass.

You want the flat brush to be completely dry and use very little pressure so that it doesn’t lift the paint.

4: Adding the details of the grass

This step is so much fun because you can take your time and don’t have to worry about the paper drying too quickly!

For this step, I created a creamy mixture of the green paint and then used the flat brush to drag the paint giving the impression of grass.

Make sure the flat brush is completely dried to create the proper effect.

This technique can be a little tricky to get right the first time, so it’s best to try it out on a separate piece of dry paper first!

Be careful not to overdo it, a few strokes here and there alternating between light, medium, and dark green:

You can collect a thick mixture of the paint from your mixing palette and add more texture with the flat brush.

In the end, I used a size 2 round brush to add some light green lines in the distance of the grass field.

Here’s a closer demonstration of the dry brush technique using a flat brush:

And there you have it! A beautiful yet simple watercolor field landscape!

Related Content:

• Watercolor Landscape Tutorial for Beginners

• Field of Flowers tutorial

• Dramatic Watercolor Landscape Tutorial

• Simple Watercolor Seascape

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