Step 1. Sketch the horizon and hills.

Draw a light sketch to place the most important elements of the painting — the horizon and hills.

Step 2. Paint the sky.

As you can see in the video, you will begin with the sky by washing the area above the horizon line with plain water. This is the foundation of a technique known as wet-on-wet. Notice that once a color is applied, it begins to spread across the paper through the water.

This technique is used to create the sky because it looks soft and is transparent enough to make the gradient hues of a real sky. To get this effect, rows of paint are applied with a large round paintbrush with each new row mixing with the last.

Start with the Ultramarine Blue at the very top and work down the page; add a row of Cobalt Blue, then Rose, then Gamboge. As the colors meld together to create various shades in blues, violets, reds, and oranges, you begin to get the impression of a sunset.

The artist ends at the horizon line with a touch of the Cerulean Blue before beginning to add dabbs of Violet, Lilac, and Indigo. This adds character for clouds that help set the mood of a night sky.

She continues to darken the top of the sky with the Ultramarine Blue, adding touches of Indigo. This adds atmospheric perspective because the color of the sky is always lightest along the horizon and darkens as it goes farther and farther into outer space.

To finish the sky, use an approach called “lifting” to take some paint away and add a white crescent moon. You can do this by using an almost dry brush and delicately touching the tip to the paper to lift the paint from the surface onto the brush.

Step 3. Paint the hills.

The artist begins the middle ground of the painting by using a wet-on-dry process. This means she does not moisten the paper first; but, applies the paint directly to the dry surface. This approach gives her sharp edges for the mountains and hills because the paint stays put and doesn’t spread.

She also paints these hills slightly darker than she did the sky. Starting at the horizon line, she begins with the Cerulean Blue and then as she paints down the paper she adds a bit of the Prussian Blue, darkening as she goes to form the cone shape of the hill.

Adding some Cobalt Blue to the section next to the hill creates contrast and gives the two hills depth. After darkening the first hill with more Ultramarine Blue and filling in with Indigo and touches of Noir, the contrast becomes greater and the first hill begins to feel closer to the viewer.

FYI: Darker objects appear closer to the viewer — lighter objects appear farther away. This is known as aerial perspective.

Painting the section in front of the hill with Lilac and Violet finishes the middle ground and sets the stage for adding in the larger hills in the foreground.

Step 4. Paint the foreground.

The artist in the video begins painting the first of the two hills in the foreground with a wash of Lilac. She moves across the shape adding layers of paint, including Lilac, Indigo, Cerulean, and Violet to build up a dark mass. This layering process is known as “glazing.”

Using the Indigo with a touch of Noir, use the small liner for the tiny silhouettes of trees along the ridge of the hill. You can do this with delicate, nervous little strokes. Begin with the larger trees at the top and gradually make them smaller as they go down the hillside.

By mixing Lilac, Violet, Indigo, and Noir together, the artist produces a dark wash for the final hill. She continues adding layers until it is the darkest shape in the painting. Another little forest of trees are added to this hill as well.