You may want to choose a tan, sienna, gold or other “desert-toned” paper to work on. Then use some opaque watercolors or gouache, or mix a little white in with each of your colors. The Old Masters used toned papers frequently. It’s a technique that’s gotten short shrift in more recent times.
The really interesting thing about this technique is that if you choose a mid-toned paper, you can add darker darks and lighter highlights to achieve an almost three-dimensional effect.
toned warm tan drawing paper
Burnt Sienna, Phthalo Blue, Raw Sienna, Titanium White
no. 7 round
1⁄2-inch (13mm) flat
black and white colored pencil, gouache paint
I cropped the foreground, simplified the plants and emphasized the height of the mountains. Never feel that you have to copy a photo exactly; it’s a tool like any other, and you’re the boss.
Do your preliminary drawing more emphatically than usual. I used a black colored pencil. Go as deep and intense as you like with your darks; they form the bones of your painting with this technique.
Start to add your lighter tones with local color. You can alter them later in either direction, going lighter or darker. I used a combination of gouache paints and Titanium White added to my regular watercolors.
Mix stronger washes with less white in them for the mid- and darker tones. Here, I used Phthalo Blue with a little Raw Sienna for the mountain that’s mostly in shadow, and a stronger mix of Raw Sienna and a little Burnt Sienna for the foreground gullies. See how rounded it’s beginning to look?
When you get the opportunity, do close-up sketches of landscape elements. Though the plants in my toned paper demo might almost be generic, it helps me to know what they look like close up.
DESERT EROSION
Watercolor, gouache and colored pencil on toned drawing paper
5" × 7" (13cm × 18cm)
Keep adding lighter lights for the sagebrush and other desert plants with quick, lacy strokes. Add deeper darks where needed. I used a little white colored pencil in the sky and restated some of the dark lines with my black colored pencil.