There are multiple ways in which you can paint a lavender field but today you will be learning my very loose style of painting a gorgeous lavender field with watercolors.
We will be learning how to sketch the lavender field using one point perspective, then we will paint gradient sky and soft looking mountains. Once we have completed the sky part we will move on to painting the lavender field where we will learn how we can add texture using splattering technique. Exciting, right? I know we are using all the basic watercolor techniques which we already know but let's now learn how to make them work in our favor. Don't worry if you are a complete beginner I will be guiding you in each step making it super easy to understand.
Hello everyone! I am Shreya from India and this year I am part of the Pigeon Letters Design Team. I absolutely enjoy sharing my love and knowledge for watercolors with you. Seeing you all paint and learn along with me makes me so happy. So let's not waste any time and get started.
Supplies:
- A5 size watercolor paper (300gsm cold pressed 25% cotton)
- Watercolor round brushes size 2, 6, 14 and one liner brush
- Watercolors of your choice
- Two jars of water
- Pencil and eraser
- One rough cloth or tissue paper
- White gouache
- Scale
- Masking tape
- A board to stick down your paper
You absolutely don't need the exact same art supplies I am using; you can use whatever is available. Slight Change in the colors for this subject won't affect the end results. So I would highly suggest just having fun with the colors and materials you own.
Watch this tutorial below!
Step 1: Sketch the Lavender Field
First start by applying masking tape on all the sides of the paper. Be sure you press the masking tape thoroughly so that there is no gap between the paper and the tape. That way you will be assured to get clean looking edges.
Now, let's first draw the horizon line on the paper in a way that ⅓ part is for the sky and ⅔ part is for the land area. Next, we will draw the tiny little houses on the horizon line surrounded with mountains at the back and some bushes and trees. One thing you need to keep in mind while sketching these elements is the proportions, so the mountains would be the largest compared to the houses and the trees.
So once that is done, let's sketch the lavender field. What you need to do is create a dot on the center of the horizon line then start drawing the line from the foreground in a way that they all meet at one point that we made. And that's all with the sketching part!
Step 2: Paint the Sky
As we will be using wet on wet technique to paint, let's apply a clean and even layer of water on the sky leaving the houses. Once that is done start painting the sky with cerulean blue. To create the gradient effect start with mid value cerulean blue from top and as you come down make it lighter by adding water if required or by just pulling the color down with a damp brush. No time to rest, we have to paint other elements before the paper dries. So while the paper is semi wet, take the mid value of ultramarine blue and paint the mountain first. Then start adding different tones of greens around the houses again while the paper is wet to make small bushes and then let everything dry.
Step 3: Paint the Land Area Below the House
Once the paper is completely dried we can paint the land below the house with a mid value of raw sienna and a little bit of burnt sienna near the house to create a bit of shadow and let that dry
Step 4: Paint First Layer of the Lavender Field
This is going to be so much, so let's not waste any time and start by wetting the bottom part with an even layer of water. But before we do that, let's prepare our purples! You can use per mixed purple if you have, in case you don't you can mix ultramarine blue with bright rose, permanent pink or any red which is cooler to get a perfect looking lavender color. Once your purple color is ready we can start by wetting the paper. Then, start applying the purple color which we mixed on the paper. Make sure the color is darker at the bottom and as you move towards the horizon line it gets lighter. While you are doing that also add a very light value of sap green in between lavender fields this will divide each section.
Now, let's start with the fun part! Cover the top area with tissue and then start adding splatters with purple, pink, ultramarine blue color while the paper is wet. Adding splatters is simple: load your brush with the paint then either use your other hand or brush to tap on the brush and you will see drops of colors will fall on the paper creating beautiful blooms. You can stop whenever you feel like it enough.
Then, while that is drying, paint the roof as well as the button part of the house.
Step 5: Add the Final Details
Once your paper is completely dried you will have to add splatters of all the colors which we added before but this time the paper will be dry. To create more brightness I will also add splatters of white color. Remember to cover the sky part before you start adding the splatters. Once that is done let's add a few tall trees with the green color on the horizon line, as well as some bushes near the lavender field with the same greens, next paint the doors of the houses with cerulean blue and lastly add a few dancing birds with black on the sky. Here I have used my favorite liner brushes from pigeon letters to paint the birds. And we are done now, let everything dry.
Step 6: Removing the Masking Tape
Now when everything is completely dry, slowly start peeling the masking tape at an angle which is away from the paper so that you don't end up tearing it. And this is how our final painting looks. Simple yet so beautiful.
I hope you enjoyed learning about a simple winter landscape with cabins. Now it's your turn to paint. Hoping to see your work!
See all of Shreya’s tutorials on the blog!
Shreya is a full time artist, Art Educator, Youtuber and Skillshare teacher from India who works with various mediums. Her go-to medium is the free flowing, unsecured nature of watercolors. Nature is her biggest inspiration and the sole reason she loves painting landscapes, seascapes, florals, the night sky and Northern Lights, and so much more. She finds peace in painting and her ultimate goal is to make everyone feel the same through her work and through her teachings.
