Copy the outline on the left, lightly in pencil.

Remove excess graphite (pencil) from the paper by dabbing gently with a putty eraser before you begin to paint.

Beginning with blue, paint the sky areas then move down and around the painting, filling in other areas of sky and snow.

For the paler areas, paint each with clean water and drop in blue (touch the loaded brush to the wet area) to the upper or lower edges, as shown.

Let the colour spread to create soft edges.

For the snow below the robin wet the areas in the same way as above, but drop in a mix of scarlet and blue. Allow the paper to dry a little before you drop in colour so that it doesn’t spread too far.

When the painting is dry enough to add the trees without smudging the work you’ve already done, paint each tree shape with dilute yellow.

While the paint is still wet, drop in stronger Winsor blue and allow the two to mingle then add a tiny amount of red and blue mix.

The illustration below shows the wetness of the paper. The white areas on the trees are simply light falling on the wet paper; they will not be there when it dries.

For the beak, back and tail, make a brown from the red and blue (if these make purple, add more red) then a little yellow. Paint each area then drop in a little clean water to displace some of the paint and give a softly shaded effect rather than flat colour.

For the breast, use a yellow wash and drop in a stronger scarlet around the edges.

Add more red and yellow to the brown mixture to paint the wing before adding a little clean water to the centre.

For the whitish underside, paint the area with clean water and drop in a pale red and blue mix.

Paint the areas of branch below the robin with yellow then drop in red, blue and the red and blue mix.

Before you move on to the dark lines of the leading, are there any areas you feel should be a little stronger in tone or slightly different colour? Could you do this by glazing?

Remember that the wash you intend to cover should be totally dry before you attempt to paint over it and the glaze shouldn’t be fussed over; just paint it quickly and leave it.

Or are there other areas that need to be lifted out (removing a little colour if it’s too dark)? This can be done by working at the area with a slightly damp brush then blotting the softened colour with tissue to remove a little of any surplus colour. As these colours stain the result won’t be dramatic.

If so, make any changes at this stage.

For example, at this stage Lesley thought that the back and tail of the robin looked a little dull and so glazed over them with a pale orange colour. She also added a yellow glaze over the trees.

Now for the leading.

For this, your painting needs to be completely dry.

Prepare a dark grey/black mix (red + blue = purple + a little yellow to make it more neutral). 

Practise your lines on spare paper before commencing on your robin.

Paint the lines of leading. Remember that the texture of the paper makes some bumps inevitable.

Begin with the shorter lines so that you can build confidence for the larger ones. Turn your paper as you go, working in any direction that feels more comfortable for you. Be careful not to smudge previous lines as you paint new ones.

For the straight lines around the edges you could use a straight edge or ruler - see photo below for how to do this. The books support the ruler and the ferrule (metal part) of the brush runs against the ruler.

Lesley writes regularly for Leisure Painter and a subscription makes a great Christmas gift for artists.

See more from Lesley on her website, www.lesleylinley.co.uk