Lundagård in the snow

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This is an old painting from 2004, the motif is from Lundagård in Lund. This park is adjacent to the university’s main building with its fountain which I have painted many times. The painting is done with three different colors and the approach is very simple and uncomplicated. An excellent exercise then.

Colors

• French ultramarine. I think a granulating color is needed for this motif. The image becomes flat with phthalo or another modern synthetic blue color. An alternative can be cobalt blue, but then you lose the depth of the color mixture for the trees.
• Burnt sienna, this color is an absolute must in every watercolor painter’s palette. If you do not have it, buy it!
• Raw sienna, used only for the houses in the background, it can be replaced with yellow ocher.

Step 1

Start with the sky, paint it down to the houses and paint around the trees. Make a color mixture of blue and burnt sienna that should be quite thin. This gray color should be painted in all small fields that exist between the tree trunks and above the houses. It is important that all small fields of sky get the same shade, therefore tilt the paper when you paint these, then the color flows evenly. The technique is called flat wash. When it is done and the paint has dried, the houses should be painted. Use unmixed raw sienna for them. If you want, save the bright lines in the facade (paint around them). Remember to create a credible snow edge in the lower part of the houses. Try to paint around the larger branches in the foreground that can be seen in the photo, both in the sky and in the house.

Step 2

The windows and other details on the houses are painted with blue + burnt sienna. As you can see, I have painted this very carelessly, if it is painted too picky, it attracts too much interest and you lose what is important in the picture. Some shrubs are also painted with the same colors as well as hints of branches around the tree trunks, this is painted with a light color mixture.

Step 3

The painting ends with the dark tree trunks, these are the motifs themselves, everything else is just there to place them in a context. Now you should be a little careful, mix a very dark color of French ultramarine and burnt sienna, this should be blue-black, mix another color that is more brownish black. The trees get a little boring if you only use one and the same color for them. Fill all the trees with the different color mixtures, let the two colors flow together on the paper. Watch out for the snow on the trees, look at the photo and try to imitate how the snow is. The larger branches that you have previously saved in the sky and house should also be painted, put a little dark paint at the bottom of the white branches so it looks like snow on the top of the branches. Use plenty of paint. Do not paint the trees dry on the trees, as the colors will die. With a light color, also paint some snow on the ground but do not cover the paper with paint, leave a little white here and there.