How to paint - - Mountains!

Sometimes my friends will say.

 "Wow, I like your art! But I could never draw like that..."

Well, guess what - I think you can!

The way I paint isn't necessarily difficult. I like to do illustrations. Illustrations aren't supposed to be realistic; it's an interpretation. Really, it can be anything you like!

So, to all of you who believe you are art-challenged, fear no more! To help you along, I'd like to share a basic step-by-step of how I paint mountains (one of my favorite subjects!)

1. Start with a pencil, making one large mountain shape in the middle, and two on either side to frame it.

2. Get out your paints! You can do this with watercolor, acrylic, even markers - it doesn't matter! I prefer watercolor, and usually paint it on thick.

3. Make sure you are using two different greens for this, to get the desired effect. You should show a difference between the ridges of the mountains and the trees growing on the bottom edge.

4. Finally, fill in some ridges with dark green-blue to make shadows. I made little dots for texture, too. You can add evergreens, a river, a cabin - anything mountain-y to the bottom.

Voila! Here it is, in full form:

You've made some mountains! If you're not good at art, I hope you gave it a try and painted something lovely for yourself. Thanks for reading! Now get out there and have an adventure...hopefully, on a mountain.

-LM