This tutorial will outline the method I used to paint a twilight mountainous landscape, in acrylics on illustration board. Materials used included professional acrylic paints, hot-press illustration board, and sable/ synthetic mix brushes in sizes ranging from 000 to 7.

Step 1: Blocking in the composition
I loosely suggested the composition with green, brown and light yellow in thick strokes. I checked the composition by holding it up to a mirror, and by looking at it upside-down, to ensure it was balanced.

Step 2: Painting the sky
Payne's grey with umber was used for the mountain shadows. I used raw umber for a cool dark, or burnt umber for a warmer tone.
The sky was first to be painted. It was painted in two layers (first layer at top, second layer at bottom in the picture below), allowing for drying time between layers. I worked with thick paint, and mixed colours on my palette before starting (acrylic dries fast so you have to be quick). I used a large brush to apply colour, and a small dry brush to blend. The rising full moon was added last with white and pale blue.

Step 3: Blocking in more colour
The light source is from the right, so more darks were added on the left-hand hillside to suggest this. Yellow-green highlights were added on the opposite side. Now the main colours were completed, so details could be introduced.

Step 4: Snowy peaks
Since I work back-to-front, the next part to be painted was the mountains. White and cobalt blue were used. The furthest peaks were painted with mainly blue, with more white added as I moved forwards, to make the background recede.
Snow may look complicated, but it's not hard. Applying the white/ blue mix in horizontal lines indicates rock ledges, and using darker blue on the left-hand side of the mountains made them more 3D. White highlighted the closest mountains. Dabs of pale blue around the bottom of the mountains indicate where the snow was broken up amongst the trees.

Step 5: Trees and rocks
Golden brown was painted in squarish blobs to suggest rocks. Fine dark lines made cracks in the rocks, and pale blue and white on top suggested snow.
The ground was painted in a patchwork of green and brown, with snow applied last. Small vertical lines in dark green denote trees. These look effective when painted in front of patches of snow.
Using paler greens and light browns in the foreground help it stand out from the distant mountains.

Step 6: The lake
The sky blues were painted over the lake. Slight reflections were added with white and pale brown. These were smudged downwards with a fingertip, to suggest slight movement in the water.

All content copyright Donna Quinn.