Paint a Landscape Scene with Watercolors
Paint a colorful landscape scene using watercolors, learning brush techniques, color mixing, and layering to create skies, trees, and distant hills.
About this activity
Paint a colorful landscape scene using watercolors, learning brush techniques, color mixing, and layering to create skies, trees, and distant hills.
What you need
Step by step
- 1
Step 1
Gather all your materials and set them on a flat table so everything is easy to reach.
- 2
Step 2
Tape the edges of your watercolor paper to the table or a board to keep it flat and make a white border.
- 3
Step 3
Lightly draw a horizon line and simple shapes for distant hills a closer hill and a few tree shapes with your pencil.
- 4
Step 4
On your scrap paper practice one broad flat wash stroke and one thin line stroke with your brushes to feel the pressure.
- 5
Step 5
Use the large brush to wet only the sky area on your paper with clean water for a soft wash effect.
- 6
Step 6
Mix a pale blue on your palette by adding lots of water to one blue paint to make a light wash.
- 7
Step 7
Paint the wet sky area with the pale blue using broad strokes so the color spreads softly.
- 8
Step 8
Let the sky dry for a few minutes until it is no longer shiny to the touch.
- 9
Step 9
Mix two greens on your palette making one light green with more water and one darker green with less water.
- 10
Step 10
Paint the distant hills with the light green using smooth horizontal strokes.
- 11
Step 11
Paint the nearer hills with the darker green making the color stronger to show they are closer.
- 12
Step 12
Mix a warm brown on your palette for tree trunks and a darker green for leaves.
- 13
Step 13
Paint tree trunks with vertical strokes using the brown so they stand in front of the hills.
- 14
Step 14
Dab the darker green for leaves on top of the trunks using short layered strokes to add texture and depth.
- 15
Step 15
Take a photo of your colorful landscape and share your finished painting on DIY.org
Fun facts
How do I paint a colorful landscape scene with watercolors with my child?
To paint a colorful landscape, tape watercolor paper to a board and lightly sketch the horizon and main shapes. Start with broad washes: wet the sky area and lay down a light wash, then add distant hills with diluted color. Let layers dry between steps. Use wet-on-wet for soft skies and wet-on-dry for sharper trees and foreground details. Demonstrate brush strokes, encourage color mixing on a palette, and finish with small details and highlights.
What materials do I need to paint a watercolor landscape with kids?
You’ll need watercolor paints (pans or tubes), heavyweight watercolor paper (140 lb/300 gsm recommended), a few brushes (small round for details and a larger round or flat for washes), two water jars, a palette or mixing tray, masking tape, pencil and eraser, paper towels or a rag, and a smock. Optional extras: salt, sponges, masking fluid, and a spray bottle for texture. Use washable, non-toxic paints for younger children.
What ages is painting a watercolor landscape suitable for?
This activity works well for children aged about 4 and up with adult supervision. Ages 4–6 enjoy exploring color and broad washes with guided help. Ages 7–9 can practice layering, basic brush control, and simple composition. Ages 10 and older can experiment with more advanced color mixing, perspective, and texture details. Adapt the complexity, time, and tools to each child’s attention span and motor skills.
What are the benefits of watercolor landscape painting for children?
Watercolor landscapes boost creativity, observational skills, and color awareness as kids study skies, hills, and trees. They strengthen fine motor control through varied brushwork and teach patience and sequencing when layering washes. Mixing colors introduces basic color theory and decision-making. Emotionally, painting offers a calming, expressive outlet and builds confidence. For safe, stress-free play, use non-toxic washable paints and let children try simple variations like seasonal palett
Watch & Learn
Need help?
What can we use instead of watercolor paper or painter's tape if we don't have them?
If you don't have watercolor paper, use heavyweight mixed-media paper or thick cardstock and tape its edges to a board with masking tape or painter's tape so the paper stays flat and you still get a white border as in step 2.
My sky has hard edges or puddles — how can I fix it?
To fix puddles or hard edges in the sky, re-wet the sky area with the large brush and clean water (step 5), immediately repaint with the pale blue wash (step 6–7), and blot excess with scrap paper to soften the wash before letting it dry (step 8).
How can I adapt the activity for younger or older children?
For younger kids let them skip the pencil horizon and use the large brush for broad sky washes and dabbing leaves on scrap paper (steps 3, 4, 5, 12–14), while older kids can refine the pencil sketch, carefully mix the two greens, and build layered leaf texture with short strokes (steps 3, 9–14).
How can we extend or personalize the finished landscape?
To personalize the painting, while the sky is wet (step 7) sprinkle a little salt for texture, then after the sky dries (step 8) add wet-on-dry glazing to deepen the nearer hills (step 11), paint small foreground details or highlights on trunks (steps 13–14), remove the tape for a crisp white border and photograph to share on DIY.org (step 15).