Begin by making an outline drawing of the bridge using a 2B pencil. Now draw the two foreground trees and riverbank then add the middle-distance trees behind the bridge. 

1. Thoroughly load the No. 6 mop with water.
2. Add a very small amount of French ultramarine blue to alizarin crimson and mix in the palette. 
3. Apply the wash at the top of the paper, working across and down. Paint over the trees down as far as the line of the bridge.

Add more French ultramarine blue to the mix in the palette and blend with the first wash at the top of the sky. 

1. You now need to create a dull colour that reflects the sky colour onto the water area by adding a very small amount of raw sienna to the purple-blue mix.  
2. Apply this wash to the entire water area. 

1. Thoroughly clean the brush. Mix a light wash of Winsor yellow.
2. Apply a light wash of Winsor yellow to the top of the left and right-hand banks and work down. 
3.  Add a touch of burnt sienna to the mix as you approach the lower part of both areas.

1. Mix French ultramarine, alizarin crimson and a touch of Winsor yellow to create a strong blue-grey colour.
2. Apply that mix to the area that is just off centre, and to the left and right-hand side in the far distance.

Add a little Winsor yellow to the brush and paint the dull green areas. Add more Winsor yellow to paint the very light yellow-green to the right. Allow the paper to dry completely. This now completes the painting of the distant areas and the first washes. 

1. Using the No. 5 Rigger and a mix of French ultramarine with a touch of light red, paint the suggestion of three trees to the left. 
2. Add more of both colours and paint the trunk of a single tree to the right of what will be three trees positioned at the back of the bridge. Soften the bottom and top of this trunk with water and let the paint flood in.

Use the No. 6 mop to add more light red to your French ultramarine and paint the three trees in the centre.

1. Load a smaller No. 4 mop, very lightly dampened with a mix of Winsor yellow and French ultramarine blue.
2.  Form the outer leaf areas then work your way over parts of the trunk, lifting and spreading the trunk colour. This effect suggests some of the branches lay across the front of the trunks.

1. Complete the middle-distant stage by painting the blue-grey trunk on the righthand using French ultramarine blue and a touch of light red. 
2. Add the middle-distance wood with a mix of Winsor yellow, light red and a touch of the ultramarine using the dry-brush technique.   

1. Still using a dry-brush technique and the No. 4 mop mix Winsor blue (red shade) with a little raw sienna and remove most of the colour from the brush. 
2. Paint an impression of the ivy clinging to the left-hand large tree trunk by dragging the brush across the surface of the paper, allowing the paint to cling to the high parts of the surface. Use this same mix, with more raw sienna added, and the same technique to paint the ivy on the trunk of the tree on the opposite bank.

1. Use the point of the No. 6 mop with a very strong mix of Winsor blue and burnt sienna to paint the trunk. Start at the base where the trunk meets the grass bank using downward brushstrokes to suggest a spiky, grass-like effect. As you work your way up the trunk, leave lots of the textured ivy areas unpainted. This creates the effect of light sparkling on the shiny ivy leaf work. 
2.  Use the same technique to paint the tree and ivy on the opposite bank. Clean the brush.

1. Mix a strong, grey colour  using French ultramarine blue  and burnt sienna and a little light red. Paint all facing parts of the bridge and supporting stones first. Work from left to right leaving the effect of grass standing up on the bank at either end. 
2. Now paint the inside sections  of all the supporting stones.  Add each section at a time, leaving a few narrow sections of white paper to separate the sections of stone. This will add sparkle to the finished painting.

1. Use the Rigger with a mix of French ultramarine blue and burnt sienna  to paint a couple  of small tree trunks on the far left of the foreground tree. 
2. Change to the No. 4 mop and add raw sienna to the mix. Apply this colour to the top left-hand corner, working down, lifting and spreading  some of the tree trunk colour as you go. Try  not to disturb the initial under colour.

Change back to the large mop brush. Mix Winsor blue with Winsor yellow and add burnt sienna to paint the grass on both left and right-hand banks. Use upward and downward brushstrokes to leave spiky grass-like shapes at the top and bottom of each clump. As the brush dries, add more burnt sienna to the mix.

1. Paint the reflections and ripples on the surface of the water using  the point of the large mop and  a mix of Winsor blue and raw sienna.  Use a strong mix of colour under the bridge and bank, and in the foreground. Weaken the colour slightly for the outer ripples. 
2. Use a Rigger with a very strong mix of French ultramarine and burnt sienna to paint the old rusty fence uprights and cross sections of the railings on the bridge.

1. By adding shadows, we can create  a feeling of atmosphere. With the large mop mix together French ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and a small amount of raw sienna. 
2.  Apply a transparent wash to the area on the left-hand side of the large tree and either side of the smaller tree on the opposite bank. Try not to remove any underpainted colour. Use the same colour on some areas of the grass on both riverbanks; apply a stronger colour in places.

Paint the outer  edges of the ivy with a French ultramarine blue and alizarin mix.

Adding small touches of detail at the end of a painting can enhance those distance, middle-distance and foreground areas. When  we add the last touches, we must use restraint to be successful.

1. The mix for the finished touches should be a dark, rich colour. I used French ultramarine, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna, and painted  a suggestion of grass and foliage along both banks, using upward brushstrokes and dotting the paper with the point of the brush.
2. I overlaid this colour on some of the dark areas above and around the light areas.