Moorland Farm
h
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o
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e (Free Watercolour Worksheet)
Aim: To paint a sprawling farm building on the edge of the
moor with a cool clear evening light.
Objectives: Practice buildings
Practice colour mixing
Experience pen/ink techniques
.Paints to Use: Raw Sienna
Ultramarine Burnt Sienna
Also useful: A fine pen, quill, or sharpened bamboo stick
and a dark mix of watercolour paint, or ink.
(or you can outline with a fine brush)
PREPARATION FOR PAINTING: 10 mins
1
.
I always suggest to doodle a thumbnail
sketch or two to get the feel of the
subject. Be aware of the light direction
and shadows.
2
.
Work out your colours and shades in a
preparatory swatch i.e. farm wall colour, near wall colours, rusty roofing, and distance.
3
.
Outline the subject on your watercolour paper in pencil.(See colour template) Always tape down your
paper to help avoid cockling, ideally wetting and gum taping. Check out on youtube if not sure.
PAINTING
1
.
Turn your paper upside down and tilted, lay in a medium strength wash of Raw Sienna from the
horizon fading to nothing at the top of the sky. Use this mix, pale, for the foreground walls and
grass, but here on the walls, add patches of pale Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna . Dry the paper.
2
.
Turn the paper the right way up and tilt again to lay in a pale wash of medium strength Ultramarine
for the sky, fading into the Raw Sienna wash. Dry.
3
.
Distant hill: pure pale Burnt Sienna.
4
.
Flat, marshy area just above the right-hand wall : pale Raw Sienna/Burnt Sienna mix.
5
.
Just paint the farmhouse using various shades of Burnt Sienna/ Ultramarine (grey-brown to grey-
green. Leave a white space for the right-hand top window. Don’t worry about sharp lines at this
stage. Keep the chimney vague wet into wet.
6
.
The other extra buildings have rusty roofs. Burnt Sienna: Dry brush where needed.
7
.
Add a little more variety to the wall colours, but keep generally pale and mossy looking.
8
.
O.K. That’s the painting done. (All looks a bit vague at this stage)
9
.
Use some dark ink, or mix up some near black paint: Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna.
10.
Now
it’s
just
pure
enjoyment
with
that
pen
or
fine
brush
you
have
been
saving,..
to
get
the
sharpness
of
lines
–
not
too
heavy
to
start
with..
gently
does
it..
vary
the
lines
you
make,
…
trees,
wall, farm, buildings.. .Don’t forget the crows? (There is always a few on the farm at dusk!)
So there you have
it, my painting on a cold winters evening. Remember this is my interpretation and every painting
is different. At least these are the stages and paints I used. You can adjust! Also see my free
snow moorland farm project. I had adjusted the above painting to make it into a snow scene at:
