How to Paint a Wet-on-Wet Landscape Painting of Mountains, Lakes, and Woodland Islands.

Ever wanted to paint a beautiful, impressive painting without being an expert, taking long classes, or even having much experience? Wet-on-Wet painting is a great way to get into the art quickly. In this instructable, I’ll give you some simple steps to construct your very own painting.

To paint this efficiently, you’ll need some painting supplies. These are the supplies that I used:

1. Bob Ross Brand landscape paint colors

1. Bob Ross Liquid White paint

1. Bob Ross 2 inch and 1 inch landscape brush

1. Bob Ross #10 and #5 painting knife

1. Assorted oil fan brushes

1. 2 by 3 foot single primed, stretched canvas.

1. Odorless paint thinner

1. Bob Ross cleaning bucket

1. Painting tarp (This is very helpful and cheap. A large, thin, clear, plastic sheet roll that can be disposed of saves you a lot of mess.)

1. Bob Ross cleaning bucket

1. Metal easel (Any easel that fits your canvas will work)

1. Trashcan: double bagged (to dispose of excess paint thinner that cannot rinse back into bucket)

1. Funnel (for pouring the paint thinner back into its container for storing)

1. Cloth-like paper towels (for cleaning and drying brushes)

1. Disposable gloves, heavy duty (I use a lot of these)

1. Eye protection (sunglasses will do, just to protect eyes from paint thinners as they are harmful)

1. Clear painting palette

note: I used all of these supplies due to working with oil paint, which is somewhat expensive and requires paint thinners and protective equipment. A similar scene can be created with acrylic paints, and all you’ll need is paper towels, brushes, a painting knife, and a water cup for cleaning. You also will not be able to use liquid white, but because acrylic paints are water soluble, a similar effect can be done using a damp watercolor paper with a thin coat of standard white acrylic paint on it. If you want to paint this way instead, just follow along with the techniques but the blending may be slightly different. An example of this style is shown above.

In preparation for your painting, you’ll want to secure your canvas to your easel (if you are using oil paint) and you’ll want to get the trash can with a double bag in it. You’ll also want to fill your cleaning bucket with odorless paint thinner. Next, you’ll need to prime the cavas with liquid white or clear paint; apply a thin layer evenly and you’re ready to go!

If you are painting acrylic, skip this step. If you are using oils, it will help you.

If you are using oil paints, this is how you will clean them:

1. Take your dirty brush and scrub it against the mesh of the cleaning bucket until all paint is gone. Your cleaning bucket should be filled with odorless thinner about an inch above the mesh.
2. Next, you'll want to push the brush against the side of the bucket out of the thinner to get thinner off it.
3. After this, to remove any thinner residue, put your brush in the trashcan, and beat it back and forth on the walls quickly. Or if you have a beater rack, that can be used instead.
4. Finally, dry your brush with a paper towel (cloth-like is best).

There are many ways to paint a good sky, but the one used in this painting is like so:

1. Paint using a large brush with your sky/water color (I used blue) and making criss cross brush strokes.
2. Your next step will be to use that same color, and, using sideways strokes pulling toward the middle from either side, make your basic water.
3. Next, make the clouds using either a medium size brush (I used 1 inch) or a fan brush, and create small shaded color spirals with your brush. After this, do the same thing but with white on top of the shadow, and then blend out the bottom of the clouds.
4. For the cloud reflections, repeat step 3 but completely upside down. These do not have to be a perfect copy of the first clouds, but generally the same shape will look great in the end.

The next step is going to be creating your center mountain(s). Because the mirrored version is the same steps but upside down, I’ll explain the mirrored steps so as not to repeat myself. Just know to do the original mountain first and then reflect it just like the clouds

1. The first step in making your mountains is a basic outline. Use a mix of black, browns, and blues and reds on your palette. The color should look black(but not be true black once on canvas). Use your painting knife to make the paint very flat, and then put your knife vertical and just cut across, making a small roll of paint on the knife.
2. Next, you need to use the knife nearly flat and firm to push a shape of a mountain into the canvas, make it like a rough triangle shape with whatever peaks you want, and scrape it until there’s no excess paint; use the excess paint to fill in the mountain.
3. After this, use a large, clean, big blending brush and simply pull down the mountain on each side, top down, following your peak angles.

Now, you need to add highlights and shadows to your mountain. This is what makes it look realistic and like a real mountain:

1. Mix white and a little blue on your pallet, pull it flat, cut across with knife.
2. Next, add the shadows on whichever side you want the light to not be coming but adding them by lightly, flatly, pulling the paint down the angle of the slope. Ensure the paint is breaking, this makes the rocks and makes it not look unnaturally smooth.
3. After this, do the same thing on the opposite side with the highlight color, which is usually white, or if you have a night or sunset painting, can be tinted slightly.

Note: If you don’t want a snowy mountain, use some not overly mixed browns and reds and whites to make the highlight and a little more on the blacks and browns and reds and purples side for shadows.

For foothills and background trees, start with your mountain color, add a little bit of green to it, but it should be dark. Then, if you want foothills, use a medium size brush (I used 1 inch), add white to the above color, and put in some very light gray hills by tapping the brush. Continue doing this, but each new hill you add, make it darker and more green. If you want trees, use a dark color right away, but slightly less dark than your front tree. Use a fan brush and virtually tap it and pull it up slightly. You now have background trees and foothills!

For the first step of adding a woodland island, make the island and reflection just like the mountain background, but for this one, do them both at once. You’ll use a knife for basic shapes and then use a larger blending brush to fill in the islands.

For the second step of your island, you’ll add some trees and background color.

1. Take some dark/middle greens in a fan brush and make the basic, 2D, filled outline of some trees (or use oranges and reds for a fall tree).
2. Also fill in your selection with whatever the color you used for the trees.
3. Pull down the color, so it makes somewhat downward facing strokes. Then, with a dry brush, pull down the color and then gently brush it side to side.

Finally, to complete your island you’ll add some bushes, shore, and rocks, in that order.

1. For the bushes, make them in a very similar process as your foothills (see step 7) but with varying colors and no light - dark transition. Next, add a slightly more yellow and bright color on top to just the edge that the light is shining on. Reflect the bushes by putting their relative highlight color slightly above where they would be reflected in a few spots in the water. Then pull them a tiny bit and go across so the bushes are reflected.
2. For the island bank or shore of the lake, you’ll load the color just like the tree trunks, but with maybe a slightly red tint, and more dark brown. And you’ll put the knife relatively flat and paint the shore by pulling it diagonally down according to your chosen bank angles. It should not break like the snow or be scratched in thin like the mountain, so push it at a medium pressure. The shore can be reflected a tiny bit, but too much makes it murky. If you reflect it should be reflected in the same way as the trees, take the color and just pull it down and then lightly go across,
3. For your rocks, make their color similarly to the tree trunks (see step 9) but they should be more gray. You’ll use a smaller brush like a filbert or small fan, and you’ll just sort of make an arch, and then make a small arch slightly to the right. This makes the rock have a lighter color on one side, a slight shadow, and then the light hits it again and it gives it depth. You make the rock in a small curve sort of arch that fills itself because it is small. The rocks should also be reflected in the same way as the trees, take the color and just pull it down and then lightly go across.

For final touches, take liquid white, and put it on your palette. Use your small knife and just put it completely vertical and run just the edge of it through the paint back and forth, it should not be on the side of the knife at all. Then, just scratch in some little waterlines at the shore and rock edges(be careful not to make too many, just a few make it wonderful, too many will lower quality).

If you want to also use your knife with no paint to just scratch lines into the bushes like branches from their base, and then add a second color layer to the bushes with a little bit of the scratches showing, like the tree trunks, it will make your bushes pop more and be more detailed.

You can also now add a signature if you would like. I recommend making it in the bottom corner, and relatively small. For color, I like making it so it can be seen if looked for but doesn't draw your eye. You can use a liner or script liner for this.

You can also add a few black bird silhouettes in your sky using a liner or script liner if you would like. I didn't add any in the example, but they are a nice addition.

I hope this tutorial helps you paint your very own masterpiece. Happy painting! :)