b Class Description

Capture the peaceful glow of morning light in this countryside landscape painting. With golden sunlight stretching across dewy fields and soft shadows trailing behind, this lesson is perfect for exploring light, contrast, and atmosphere in your work. A gentle scene with a strong story, all created with simple yet effective techniques.

🎨 What You’ll Learn in This Class:

🌅 Morning Glow in the Sky – Learn how to infuse your sky with warm, gentle light that feels fresh and atmospheric.
🏔️ Painting Distant Mountains – Discover easy techniques to push the mountains back and create depth in your scene.
🌓 Creating Contrast – Find out how to use light and shadow to guide the eye and add drama to your composition.
🌾 Sunlit Grass Techniques – Master the effect of bright grass glowing in the morning sun without overworking the surface.
🔍 Simplifying Foreground Details – Learn how to hint at detail without losing the looseness and focus of the overall piece.

This class is a peaceful stroll through color and composition, helping you bring morning light to life on your canvas.

Join now and enjoy painting the countryside in its golden hour glow! 🌄🎨

You Will Need

  • 16″x20″ (500mm x400mm) Canvas or similar
  • These paints: Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Crimson, French Ultramarine, Cerulean Blue, Sap Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber
  • Set of bristle brushes
  • 1/4″ (1cm) Soft filbert brush
  • Rigger brush
  • Fine liners

Class Tutorial

Template

Print out the two A4 size template sheets and align them using the marked arrow pointers. Tape the two sheets securely and transfer the outlines to your canvas support. For this lesson a black carbon paper was used.

Paint the sky

Ultramarine Blue and Crimson Red plus white is used for the sky mix. For the clouds a touch of Cadmium orange is added to some white. Don’t make it too pink.

Add a slight orange glow to the sky on the horizon and paint in some cloud streaks with the pastry brush.

Mountain highlights

For the early morning glow on the mountain gently touch in some of the cloud colour as shown. Don’t overdo it.

Painting the distant trees

Add some orange to Viridian to reduce the brilliance of the green colour and with the pastry brush paint the trees behind the house. (To preserve the sharp lines of the house stick small sections of masking tape to the inside edges of the house)

Painting the house

Remove the masking tape and block the roof in with Raw Umber. Block in the walls with a lighter tone of Raw Umber.

Painting the grassy area

With varying mixtures of the green and yellow paint the area as shown. For the shadow areas add a tiny touch of red to the green mix. Sharpen up the sunshine area near the house with a little bit of white mixed into the Cadmium Yellow.

Paint the left hand trees

Add the purple/brown shadow area between the trees and suggestions of some young trees. Paint the tree trunks with Raw Umber.

Add all the smaller branches and twigs using a #2 rigger brush. Remember that all the branches and twigs get thinner towards the ends.

With some orange, add the highlights to the tree trunks. Using a small round brush, dab in the undergrowth with dark green and some lighter green for the leaves in sunlight.

With a purple mix add the shadows across the pathway as well as the foreground shadow.

Paint the fence

Block in the wooden fence with Raw Umber and then also block in the immediate foreground with Raw Umber and a bit of purple.

Foreground grass

Use a bristle fan brush for adding this grass.  Flick in the grass with the fan brush with an upward motion. Use a variation of colours for interest.

Paint the figure

Don’t paint the head too big – just a small dot. Add the highlight to the side of the figure. Add the cast shadow on the pathway.

Finishing of the painting

Randomly dot in a few flowers for interest.

Final painting

Click the button below to view the real time follow along version of this class:

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