I begin by taping the watercolor paper down and lightly sketching basic key shapes. Apply liquid masking fluid to the foreground birches and a few foreground leaves which will be white or light-colored when the painting is finished. The masking fluid must be completely dry before painting over it. Once dry, this will protect the paper underneath.

Now wet areas of the sky and water with clean water, then begin by applying washes of primary colors – yellow, red, and blue – in that order. I also added a touch of Burnt Sienna along the near shoreline in the lake where I want it to appear shallow.

Add in the distant and middle ground shorelines using a combination of colors, painting right over the masked out areas. I usually begin with Cobalt Blue, then quickly add in other fall colors such as Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Permanent Magenta and some variations of greens to suggest pine and spruce trees within the woods.

Intensifying color and contrast toward the foreground, add in the leaves on the birches using Raw Sienna and Cadmium Yellow. Include some shadowed leaves with touches of Alizarin Crimson mixed in. Set off the yellow leaves with the deep greens of the foreground pines. While the greens are still wet, paint in the trunks and branches of the pines.

Now comes another fun part! Remove the mask from the birches and foreground leaves. I do this by sticking a piece of masking tape to it and pulling it off. Underneath you will have clean, white paper to work with. Notice the increased brightness of the painting at this point.

Re-mask a few of the paper birch bark curls that are so characteristic of these trees. Then paint the shadows and backlighting on the trees, using a deep purple for the shadow and a complimentary Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna mix for the backlit side. I used a similar approach to the large pine trunk, but added additional color to the sunlit side.

Remove the mask from the birch bark curls and paint them. Add the dark markings to the birch tree trunks. Paint the foreground leaves with colors that tie into the rest of the painting. Observe from a distance for any additions or changes… and you’re done!