Tutorial N°16 : Copy from Richard Bonington, windmill in the north.

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Arches watercolor paper 300g/m2, rogh.

Colors: aeroline yellow, Naples yellow, natural Siena (or yellow ochre), burnt Siena, brown garance, permanent mauve, Prussian blue, indigo, payne grey.

Raphael brush small pure grey No.2, Brush Dalbe 200 pure marten No.8 or brush I love art N°6 (brand Gerstaecker) and a brush Winsor and Newton series 7, N°2.

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1. Copy from Richard Bonington, windmill in the north.

2. Drawing for the watercolour.

3. Put an adhesive tap to protect the edges all around the watercolor.

After having wett the paper, lay a very diluted wash of Naples yellow. Let dry

4. Start by painting the sky, after having wett the paper, we pass a brown garance wash (a mixture of earth of burnt and carmine). The touch is horizontal. Let dry.

5. Place in the foreground a yellow ochre wash that will give shine to the greens that will be laid later. Let dry.

6. Accentuate the reddening of the sky by passing another brown garance wash in the lower part of the sky. Do not hesitate to pass on the mill at this point. Let dry.

7. The part of the sky towards the horizon is slightly purple. Place a light veil of permanent mauve, do not hesitate to overflow on the strip of earth and backgrounds which allows to unify the whole and avoid too hard contours.

8. Start painting the meadow with a green composed of aeroline and Prussian blue, the touch is horizontal, add ochre in the foreground.

9. Paint the wings of the mill with ochre and add small touches of burnt Siena to give shine and vary the effect. Let dry.

10. In the darkest areas of the meadow, after having very slightly wet the paper, deposit indigo, be careful this shade is very coloring, you have to take some precautions and do tests on an other paper. In the distance, apply Prussian blue. The cool colors keep it away and create the atmospheric perspective. Paint the mill by depositing a very diluted wash of Prussian blue. The wings are reinforced with ochre and garance.

11. Darken the meadow and foreground again with Indigo and Payne grey for the very dark parts. Paint the herbs in the foreground with indigo, ochre, burnt Siena. Add a few details about the mill: the wings, the window, mark the underside of the roof and the rudder (guivre) at the back. Paint the birds with a fine brush. Place a little white gouache to specify the water in the foreground.

12. Another composition with a warmer atmosphere, a simplified sketch. The first washes are made with a mixture of gum-gutte yellow and ochre, the glow on the horizon is painted with brown garance, there is no addition of mauve. An overseas blue mixture with gum-gutte for green was used instead of much colder Prussian aeroline blue.

Enjoy reproducing this watercolour of a great 19th century master.