Follow Charles Evans step by step and practise a variety of watercolour techniques to paint an English country village scene

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Practise painting a simple sky with clouds

Use mark making to paint distant trees

How to use colour to paint the effects of perspective

Step 1

To begin draw a straightforward outline without crosshatching or shading on white watercolour paper. Take note of the buildings in the far distance; the perspective changes slightly as we look down on these buildings.

Step 2

1 Paint an uncomplicated sky by pre-wetting the paper then painting a graduated wash of ultramarine blue using the 11⁄2in. flat brush.

2 Wash and squeeze out the brush and use it to suck out the clouds. Allow this to dry thoroughly before continuing.

Step 3

Changing to the 3⁄4in. flat brush, pre-wet the distant hill. While this is still wet, drop on well-watered yellow ochre, followed by a mix of Hooker’s green and yellow ochre. Let the colours merge together and, again, leave this to dry.

Step 4

1 Change to the No. 8 Round brush and a stronger mix of Hooker’s green and yellow ochre to paint dots and lines to give the impression of trees and fields on the hill.