THE glazing METHOD

STEPHEN COATES shows how carefully planning the wetness of your layers and applying glazes of colour can allow you to build a soft, atmospheric set of clouds in a landscape painting

- STEPHEN COATES

Stephen's materials

• Paper Saunders Waterford 300gsm cold-pressed watercolour paper, 31x23cm

• Paints Lemon Yellow Hue, Ultramarine, Cerulean Blue Hue, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Light Red, Burnt Umber and Payne’s Gray, all Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours

• Brushes ProArte Ron Ranson hake brushes, small and large

As an alternative to starting a painting with the sky first and then building up the landscape, it is possible to paint the mountains first and then glaze the clouds on afterwards. For this to work safely, it is essential to use a more absorbent cotton paper.

This method requires that the mountains are painted first on dry paper. Once this has dried completely, the entire area of the paper can be glazed with clean water and the sky then applied in the traditional way.

I used a small sheet of Saunders Waterford paper for this example and prepared a strong mix of Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna. I also squeezed out a small blob of Raw Sienna.