Mark Green's Atheopaganism Blog

Welcome to the second installment of Paint by Season! My name is Raena, and I am an artist, poet, and educator living in Jackson, Wyoming. Paint by Season is a new monthly column where you can follow along with me to create a monthly seasonal painting to celebrate the wonders of that season. I live in a harsh mountain climate that has two solid seasons (winter and spring) and occasionally has two short but sweet transitional seasons. My art reflects where I live and likes to pull from the joy of each season. For this month, we are celebrating the return of the light with a bright and bold winter scene.

Grab your paintbrushes and let’s get started!

To follow along with me you will need:

• A canvas (any size will do but mine is an 8×10)
• One flat brush
• One round brush
• A toothbrush
• Something to put your paint on (I use a paint palate, but you could use a plate or lid)
• A water cup for rinsing brushes
• A towel or paper towel to clean brushes
• Paint (I used acrylic) in the following colors: red, orange, salmon, yellow, white

Step One:
Prep your paint by placing about a quarter size dot of all your colors on your palate.
Step Two:
Load your flat brush with the yellow and beginning about 2/3 up your canvas, spread the yellow out in a
thick band.

Step Three:
Load your flat brush with the orange and begin to spread and blend the orange into the yellow. Add
more orange to the top band of yellow and continue to fill in the upper space of your canvas.

Step Four:
Still using the orange, add a solid band of orange below the yellow. Do not blend the yellow and orange
here, you are creating a horizon.

Step Five:
Load your flat brush with red and blend into the orange on the top portion of your painting.

Step Six:

Still using the red, blend into your orange band below the yellow. Take your red nearly to the bottom of
your canvas.

Step Seven:
Using the round brush and the pink paint, add mountains along your yellow horizon (image 7.1). Clean
your round brush and lightly dip it in white paint. Very gently add strokes across the bottom portion of
your painting (below the horizon, image 7.2).

Step Eight:
Use a tiny amount of white paint mixed with pink to add a little dimension to your mountains. Create a
snow scene in the front of your painting with the white paint. Use a tiny amount of red paint to add
shadows on the water below the mountains.

Step Nine:
Using your round brush, add some pink mixed with white to your snowy hills.

Step Ten:
Using your toothbrush, mix some white with water and rake your finger across the toothbrush to create
snow falling. Congratulations, you’ve finished your painting!