Winter Solstice Watercolor Tutorial

A little backstory behind the inspiration for creating this Winter Solstice Watercolor Tutorial. We roll back the clock to December 2022, where I brave the darkest day for a solo adventure.

I will now walk you through all the supplies I use for both on the trail and in the studio. We will then prep are paper, sketch our initials drawing and prepare for adding the first marks. If you would like to trace my lines to help develop your own drawing skills, there is a download of my sketch under “Resources” in the Course Description.

It’s time to make the first marks and I know it can be a little scary! For me, it is the hardest part of every painting. However, together, it will be less scary and we’ll start with the lightest layers to help us build confidence.

Now that we’ve added in the lightest layers, we are going to brave the next terrifying step — adding in the shadows. It’s easy to allow our fears to hold us back at this state. We are about to head into the messy middle, but it’s also the foundation for creating magic in the end! Top off your tea and let’s dive in, together!

We will now embrace the darkness by adding in the deeper hues that make the longest night special. This final push will also illustrate ho important contrast is to amplifying the lights even if there is only a little bit of it.

In this final step we add in the magic! All the bright details that will being this painting to life. Now, it is easy to get a touch carried away here, it’s fun! Trust your intuition, as it will know when you’ve added just the right amount of sparkle. Lastly, THANK YOU for braving the dark with me and I hope his tutorial as brought some light into your sketching practice.