Winter Sunset

On an evening hike, I marveled at this sunset.

Back in the warmth of my studio, I made a pencil sketch in my accordion fold nature journal (started here).

I added permanent ink with my Lamy fountain pen

and erased the pencil lines when the ink had dried.

I made a wash of phthalo blue mixed with ultramarine blue for the sky, and mixed ultramarine blue and permanent blue violet to create the distant hills.

After those areas dried, I washed in azo yellow & permanent rose, being careful not to mix yellow paint into the blue sky.  I didn't want any green in my sky.  A touch of permanent blue violet created the distant lavender clouds. 

Phthalo blue mixed with burnt sienna made a rich pine green for the midground evergreens.

The dead grass color is a mixture of white gouache and azo yellow.

 Sap green mixed with yellow ochre created a muted green for the grass, and the rest of the scene was completed with a variety of earth tones, including yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, and and a dark brown-gray made with ultramarine blue and burnt umber.

I find that lingering on the colors of sunset, and exaggerating the blue violet glow in the hills brings me joy.  

As the artist, you get to find what delights you about a scene, and emphasize it.  What makes you happy to regard?  What would you relish dwelling on?  I hope you paint it!

Happy Creating!