How to Paint a Misty Forest Landscape with Watercolor

Fun fact: I spent the better part of two years wishing that I could figure out how to paint one of those breathtaking watercolor misty forest paintings.

Then one day, I thought to myself:

SCREW IT I’M GOING TO LEARN.

I spent a few hours on YouTube, observing various methods and styles of painting … and another few hours (and multiple sketchbook pages) practicing it.

I’ll be honest:

Learning to paint misty forests is such a valuable technique to master. It’s a style that fits everywhere. Need a misty landscape painting? Done. How about a subtle background to a forest or lake scene? Mistttttt. How about a little watercolor sketch to add as a flourish to some stationary or a homemade card? The mist will always work.

The finished work looks brilliantly complicated, but here’s a secret:
Let the watercolor paint do the work. The wet-on-wet method that’s used throughout most of the painting will push and pull your pigment into dark and light areas automatically. No fancy brushwork involved.

So grab your favorite paint palette and enjoy this little painting session: