Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting So, How do YOU paint snow covered mountains?

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  • #983904
    Underdog
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        I need to learn how to paint mountains with snow on them differently than the Bob Ross style. I can’t get the white to break quite like he can. I have done a fair job trying, but I feel I am limited by trying to do it that way, all the time. And I know some of what I’ve seen is NOT done that way–or not completely, anyway.

        Also, it looks like my first chance to attend a painting class is coming up on February 5. A pretty little landscape (no mountains in it, though. :p ) I am excited about what I might learn.

        #1023628
        dcorc
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            HI Underdog
            I’ve never seen this Bob Ross guy, but the more I read about him here the more I begin to think that in some ways he was a bit of a disaster!

            The way I paint anything is to look at the object, pick an area on it, try to approximately match the colour that I see in that area by mixing colours on my palette, and then applying that colour as a dab or stroke of the brush to approximately the right area on the surface of the painting. I can then blend colours together if required, or go back and adjust the colours. If I think that attempts at adjustment are making things worse, I stop trying to work that area and let the paint dry. Then I can lighten or darken or adjust the colour by glazing, or if it looks really wrong, overpaint it. I keep on doing this until i’m either reasonably satisfied, or, more frequently, realise that I’m making it worse rather than better by over-working it.

            I really don’t understand this whole “how do I paint a tree” ..or “snow” ..or “figure” thing, they are all just objects in 3D space with light bouncing off them – just try to copy what you see

            Dave

            #1023630
            Eisenhower
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                I need to learn how to paint mountains with snow on them differently than the Bob Ross style. I can’t get the white to break quite like he can. I have done a fair job trying, but I feel I am limited by trying to do it that way, all the time. And I know some of what I’ve seen is NOT done that way–or not completely, anyway.

                Also, it looks like my first chance to attend a painting class is coming up on February 5. A pretty little landscape (no mountains in it, though. :p ) I am excited about what I might learn.

                Iconoclast is a great person to ask. He painted a snow field in layers and I was very impressed. Maybe he can answer or has a painting he has done. If someone knows, maybe a WIP would be helpful. I have tried painting pic’s of the Himalya’s and it’s not easy so I would love to see WIP on a mountain scene with lots of rocks and snow.

                Kelly

                #1023627
                midcoast
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                    I agree with Dave…you really have to learn to paint what you SEE instead of just how Bob Ross says to paint generic snow, a generic tree, or a generic whatever. Painting classes that are not in Bob’s method will help.

                    I do like Dave does…figure out the color and the color’s shape, mix the color, then apply it to the canvas. Some hints:

                    – snow is rarely ever pure white (I never use pure white for snow), and shadows on snow can be very colorful (blues and violets)

                    – when I paint snow on mountains, I attempt to simplify all of the little bits of snowpatches I see into just a few larger snow masses. And yes, I leave off snow if it makes the mountain look too cluttered. You don’t have to include every little snowpatch to make the mountain look convincing. Too many patches doesn’t look “right”

                    – for close-up snow, play with warm and cool colors…it makes your painting look a lot more vibrant

                    My advice, find a good local instructor and take some classes…that will help a lot!

                    Nancy

                    #1023623
                    FOX
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                        whatever you decide, don’t paint the yellow snow.

                        Z

                        #1023631
                        Eisenhower
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                            whatever you decide, don’t paint the yellow snow.

                            I agree, the less yellow an artist uses, the better I feel – my preference. Otherwise it makes the painting look reaaaalllly old.

                            #1023629
                            Carey Griffel
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                                whatever you decide, don’t paint the yellow snow.

                                LOL…that can sometimes be hard when you’ve got a dog. :D

                                ~!Carey

                                * Zaney Zebras (blog) * facebook art page * facebook floral design page * Recipe Blog *
                                "...I wished to live deliberately...and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived." ---Henry David Thoreau

                                #1023625
                                Jokestone
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                                    http://www.williampowell-artist.com/painting-drwgexercises.html

                                    There is a Knife painting lesson of a mountain scene which i found very useful.

                                    C&C always welcome :wave:

                                    Dirk

                                    #1023624
                                    FOX
                                    Default

                                        :)

                                        Z

                                        #1023615

                                        Here’s a close-up of one I did a few months ago with a small trowel knife.
                                        I silhouetted the mountain with the dark base color (similar to how Bob does) and then applied smaller strokes of the snow color, letting the base color show in between the strokes (didn’t even try to make it “break”).
                                        Then stroked/dabbed small amounts of the base color back on top of the snow color in places. Played the snow and base colors back and forth.

                                        John

                                        #1023621
                                        palob
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                                            whatever you decide, don’t paint the yellow snow.

                                            For a few days I am thinking about painting some winter mountains. So this thread came in good time.
                                            Why I cannot use a yellow? If I would like to depict sunshine it is done best by yellow, doesn’t it? I do not mean lemon like yellow but some dull one (a bit of Naples yellow).

                                            Thanks,
                                            Pavol

                                            #1023616

                                            You can use Naples, Lemon, Cadmium – any yellow or even any warm color to depict the lighting conditions. But if you see a small patch of intense yellow with paw prints leading away from it … put a happy little evergreen there. ;)

                                            John

                                            #1023618
                                            billiam
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                                                For a few days I am thinking about painting some winter mountains. So this thread came in good time.
                                                Why I cannot use a yellow? If I would like to depict sunshine it is done best by yellow, doesn’t it? I do not mean lemon like yellow but some dull one (a bit of Naples yellow).

                                                Thanks,
                                                Pavol

                                                i think ross’s tech. is to get one over being afraid of painting, i had some about 11 yrs. ago to start with. it stirred a quest for knowledge,alexander, brenda harris, gary jenkins, susan sweeve, simply painting, pbs art shows, etc.. i have many different subject books. then you paint your way. bill

                                                old fart,you don't have to be crazy to live here, but it sure helps!

                                                #1023619
                                                billiam
                                                Default

                                                    i think ross’s tech. is to get one over being afraid of painting, i had some about 11 yrs. ago to start with. it stirred a quest for knowledge,alexander, brenda harris, gary jenkins, susan sweeve, simply painting, pbs art shows, etc.. i have many different subject books. then you paint your way. bill

                                                    also be aware, don’t make snow cream out of the yellow snow. that’ where a dog has pee’d. bad taste. bill

                                                    old fart,you don't have to be crazy to live here, but it sure helps!

                                                    #1023632
                                                    Leafy
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                                                        Hm-m-m-m….I seem to remember a beverage named ‘Yellow Snow’, it was crushed ice and a liqueur, same as in a ‘Harvey Wallbanger…but that was a l-o-n-g time ago.

                                                        I agree — I live in Upstate NY (we know snow, and it is a 4-letter word!) — paint what you see. Snow has many colors and it all depends on the light. Remember that fresh-fallen snow is somewhat translucent and it is reflective. Older snow is opaque — like a snow bank, or what the plow has tossed up. What helped me the most was to realize that I needed to ‘get away from the white of my canvas’.

                                                        PS: Snow is a great place to subtly work in the other colors of your painting…subtly, subtly, sublty

                                                        "It is not your paintings I like, it is you're painting." - Albert Camus

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