50+ Watercolor Winter Scene Painting Inspiration Ideas & Tutorials [Landscape Examples]

Below are 50+ watercolor winter scene painting ideas. These ideas are intended to provide you inspiration for your own watercolor winter landscape painting. After the photos, I have included a list of watercolor winter scene painting tips for beginners and five watercolor winter landscape tutorial videos for you to learn from.

Watercolor Winter Scene Art Inspiration Ideas

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Watercolor Winter Scene Painting Tips for Beginners

• Texture – In watercolor winter scenes, apply varied brush strokes to capture the unique textures of a wintry landscape. Use gentle, flowing strokes for snowy grounds and light touches for snowflakes. Use thicker, more deliberate brushwork for tree trunks and branches covered with snow.

• Depth – Effective water control is essential for creating depth in winter scenes. Employ clean water on wet paint to soften colors, creating layers of snow and distant elements that recede into the background, thereby enhancing the sense of depth in your winter landscape.

• Splatter Technique – To simulate falling snow, you can use the splatter technique. Flick a brush loaded with white or light blue paint to create random, delicate patterns that resemble snowflakes or textured snow surfaces.

• Simplicity – I like to remind beginners to incorporate simple elements like animal tracks or bare tree branches using straightforward silhouettes. Use darker colors for these silhouettes to contrast against the lighter snow and sky, adding subtle yet effective details to your winter scene (with making it too complex).

• Avoid Over-Detailing – In watercolor winter scenes, it’s important to avoid excessive detailing, especially in background elements like distant mountains or forests. A softer approach with less definition often creates a more realistic effect.

• Negative Space – Remember that you can use negative space to represent snow on trees. Paint around the areas you want to leave white, focusing on the shadows and mid-tones of the branches, allowing the untouched paper to represent snow.

Watercolor Winter Scene Tutorials for Beginners

Below are five watercolor winter scene painting tutorials so you can follow along and learn:

Watercolor Winter Landscape Tutorial #1 – This tutorial focuses on painting a watercolor winter scene, specifically demonstrating how to make pine trees appear snow-covered, using a mix of ultramarine blue, Payne’s gray, burnt sienna, and phthalo green. Click here to view.

Watercolor Winter Landscape Tutorial #2 – This tutorial presents a simple and quick watercolor painting of a winter scene, inspired by a monochromatic picture, using limited colors and emphasizing simplicity in composition and balance. Click here to view.

Watercolor Winter Landscape Tutorial #3 – This tutorial covers painting snow-laden trees in a winter landscape, employing techniques for creating variegated backgrounds and strong shadows, using only three colors: cobalt blue, Cerulean blue, and either Payne’s gray or neutral tint. Click here to view.

Watercolor Winter Landscape Tutorial #4 – This beginner-friendly watercolor winter scene example guides you through painting a winter woods scene (with snow and trees) using only four basic colors to keep it simple. Click here to view.

Watercolor Winter Landscape Tutorial #5 – This tutorial demonstrates how to paint a watercolor winter sunset. It captures a bright sunset over a wooded lake area with snowy banks and demonstrates how to reflect the sunset on the lake. Click here to view.