How To Paint A Puddle

About this tutorial

Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate
Panel Size: 10 x 15

Back to something familiar for this tutorial, not just because I live in England where puddles are common place but back to landscape-based content. I took this photograph last summer while holidaying in Wharfedale, Derbyshire. Thirteen years earlier I proposed to my wife at the Inn not more than two hundred yards from this spot.

I’m always on the lookout for a simple subject that will be more appropriate for the beginner, mainly because much of my work can be complex, thus better tuned to the more experienced painter. No landscape is easy. They all require a confident use of multiple techniques along with an understanding of composition and how to mix the subtle colours. Although the same is true of this tutorial, the scene itself is a snippet of a larger scene and therefore less complicated and involved. I would put this tutorial firmly in the beginner to intermediate category. I hope you enjoy painting this subject and I’ll look forward to seeing your results in the forum.