Watercolor Tutorial - How To Paint A Landscape And Sky in Springtime!
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There’s something truly magical about painting a spring landscape in watercolor. As an artist, there’s nothing I enjoy more than capturing the fresh greens, soft skies, and vibrant blossoms that arrive with the season. In this watercolor tutorial, I’m excited to walk you through one of my favorite scenes to paint—an atmospheric spring landscape, complete with distant misty mountains and fields sprinkled with wildflowers.
This isn’t just about following steps—it’s about understanding the techniques and materials that help bring your vision to life. Whether you’re just beginning your watercolor journey or have some experience under your belt, this watercolor tutorial is meant to guide and inspire.
🎨 Materials I Use for a Spring Landscape
When it comes to watercolor, quality materials really do make a difference. The right paper, brushes, and pigments can completely transform your results. Here’s what I use and recommend for this watercolor tutorial:
Paper
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Arches 300lb Cold Press Watercolor Paper
This heavy paper handles wet techniques beautifully—no buckling, and wonderful texture for washes and drybrush work.
Brushes
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Round No. 20 – for big sky washes and bold strokes
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Round No. 12 & No. 6 – for layering trees and shaping ridges
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Round No. 2 – perfect for fine branches and delicate detail
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Kitchen Basting Brush – yes, really! It’s fantastic for suggesting wildflower textures in a loose and natural way.
Paints (Winsor & Newton Professional Range)
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Winsor Blue
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Yellow
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Scarlet Lake
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Sap Green
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Light Red
These five colors are all I used for this entire watercolor tutorial—they blend beautifully to capture the rich tones of spring landscapes.
How to Create Mist at the Base of Mountains
One of my favorite parts of this landscape is the mist rising at the foot of a distant mountain range. That sense of depth and softness is something watercolor does incredibly well.
Here’s how I create it:
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Start by wetting the area where the mountains meet the ground with clean water.
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Mix a soft grey using Winsor Blue and Light Red.
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Load your brush with diluted color and gently drop it into the wet area.
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Let the pigment diffuse naturally—don’t try to control it too much.
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Use a dry brush or tissue to lift some pigment from the bottom edge to soften it even more.
This is a key moment in the watercolor tutorial—one that demonstrates the power of wet-on-wet technique to suggest atmosphere and distance. Be patient, and let it dry fully before moving on to the next layer.
🌳 Building Texture and Depth in Trees and Fields
Spring landscapes are alive with texture, especially in the trees and grassy ridges. In this watercolor tutorial, I emphasize a layered approach—working from light to dark in multiple stages.
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Underpainting: Start with a light wash of Sap Green and Yellow to lay down your basic shapes for trees and hills.
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Mid-tones: Once the first layer is dry, use a smaller round brush to add more concentrated greens, shadow areas, and early signs of foliage.
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Details: Go back in with Round No. 2 to define trunks, darker branches, and shaded undergrowth.
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Wildflower Textures: Lightly dip your basting brush into a watered-down mix of Scarlet Lake and Yellow. Then flick, tap, or dab gently across the lower half of your paper. This gives the illusion of scattered blooms without over-defining them.
Using this technique adds spontaneity and natural rhythm to your work—an important theme throughout this watercolor tutorial.
💡 Tips From the Easel
Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks that help artists get the most out of every watercolor tutorial:
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Use less water than you think you need—you can always add more.
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Let your painting breathe—step away between layers to see it with fresh eyes.
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Don’t chase perfection—the joy of watercolor lies in its unpredictable beauty.
And don’t worry about copying everything exactly as I do it in the video. Use this as a jumping-off point to explore your own voice and style.
📺 Watch the Full Watercolor Tutorial
If you're more of a visual learner—or you’d simply like to paint along in real time—I've created a full video for this scene on my YouTube channel, Let’s Paint Watercolors.
🎥 Watch the Full Tutorial Here
This complete watercolor tutorial shows the painting from start to finish, with commentary and technique tips as I go. Whether you watch it once through or pause along the way to follow each step, it’s there for you whenever inspiration strikes.
📷 Show Me Your Work!
I’d be absolutely delighted to see what you’ve created using this watercolor tutorial. Share your version on Instagram and tag me @LetsPaintWatercolors or leave a comment on the video. It’s a joy to see how each person interprets the same scene in a different way.
Final Thoughts
Spring offers such a beautiful, fleeting palette, and capturing it in watercolor is one of my favorite ways to honor the season. I hope this watercolor tutorial has helped you see how simple techniques can build up to something rich, layered, and truly expressive.
Thanks for painting with me—keep creating, keep experimenting, and remember: every brushstroke is a step forward.
Until next time,
Bill Holkham
Watercolor Artist & Instructor