Part 2:

Now that the shrubbery was completed, I returned to the rocks, adding more details and color variations.

In order to create the rough texture of the rocks, I used an old beat-up brush. I dry brushed the rocks with various colors, scraping and smearing the paint. (Dry brush means using paint with very little water and a dry brush. It makes the marks rough and the paint catches on the texture of the watercolor paper. I use 140 lb. cold press paper, which has a little roughness to it.) Here’s the brush that I used and a sample of the finished rocks.

Next, I began painting the trees. I negative painted with dark green and gray colors, to create leaf like shapes. I then started painting in various green colors, keeping the greens light. With watercolor paint, you can always go darker.

I painted another few layers of greens to build up the depth of the leaves. Finally, I added in the branches.

To be continued…