1. Draw an outline of the scene using a 3B pencil.
2. Thoroughly wet the Pro Arte Series 45 Sablesque mop brush and apply a weak wash of colour over the sky, overhanging tree (top left) and the distant trees. I started by using Winsor yellow on the top righthand area then added ultramarine blue to the left and lower areas.  

1. While the first wash is still damp,  apply a strong mix of ultramarine blue to the top right-hand part of the sky, leaving shapes of the under colour showing. This forms the shape of the clouds.
2. Weaken the colour and apply this to the rest of the sky to form the underside of the cloud formation.

1. Add a little raw sienna to the ultramarine in your palette and paint  the distant hill on the left.
2. Now add a touch of raw sienna and  paint the blue-green underneath the hill.
3. Add more ultramarine blue to the mix to paint the dark blue treetops to the right. 
4. Before these colours dry, clean and lightly dampen the mop brush and soften the colour on both sides of these areas.

1. Create a light colour by adding  water to a little ultramarine and  a touch of alizarin crimson.
2. Starting in the distance, paint the  road in front of the cottage and work your way towards the foreground. 
3. Once you are in the foreground, add more alizarin to create a warmer colour.

1. Now pick up the Pro Arte RS Renaissance No. 6 round sable. Mix Winsor yellow and a little Winsor blue to create a yellow-green hue. Starting at the top of the large tree standing behind the cottage, use the point of the brush to suggest the branches that stand up. Work your way out on either side and down.
2.  Add more Winsor blue and pick around the two chimneys and the line of the roof. These quality brushes enable you to paint  large areas, as they hold lots of colour, while at the same time they maintain their point, allowing you pick around areas you need to retain white paper.

1. Use the same mixes to paint the tree behind the barn on the left. This time ensure the brush is only damp and not fully loaded. Lay the brush on its side and drag it in a quick, downward motion. I used this dry-brush technique to create a variety of tree-like shapes. 
2. I then added ultramarine blue to paint the fir tree using the point of the brush.

Paint the trees running out of the picture on the right-hand side using a weak mix of Winsor blue and a small amount of Winsor yellow. I didn’t want these distant trees to attract the eye so I painted them quite weak in tone at the top and as I worked my way down, I added more blue and alizarin to the mix in the palette, but no more water. 

1. Once you reach the tops of the middle distant trees, use the point of the brush to paint down and lift off, to create spiky shapes of the treetops. 
2. Paint the tree above the bridge with mixes of Winsor blue and yellow, and add alizarin to the mix to paint the lower part. 
3. I added lots of Winsor blue and alizarin crimson to achieve that dark colour that I used to pick around the top stones of the bridge with the point of the brush.

1. After painting the low hedge across the side of the cottage, mix a weak mix of Winsor yellow and a touch of Winsor blue to paint the bank up to the bridge. 
2. Darken this mix slightly by adding a little more of both colours before painting the rest of the bank using the point of the brush at the edges, giving the impression of grasses. Add alizarin crimson to create a warm colour along the water’s edge. 

1. Use raw sienna and a little Winsor blue for  the hedge and grass verge in front of the barn.
2. The chimneys and grey tile colours are  a combination of ultramarine blue, Winsor yellow and alizarin crimson. These three are primary colours and when mixed they produce a wide variety of greys. Use more alizarin to achieve a warm grey for the chimneys and more ultramarine for the  grey tiles and wall areas. 
3.  Use the dry-brush technique to create a textured finish to the wall of the low barn at the left.