Watercolor Tutorial: Stonebridge in Sri Lanka’s Jungle
The Nine Arches Bridge in Sri Lanka is a famous landmark. Its special charm comes from the fact that it is located in the middle of the jungle and surrounded by lush greenery. In this Post, I share how I painted it step by step.
If you dare to walk on the rails, you can reach it on foot from Ella, a cute little town in the mountains of Sri Lanka. It’s worth it for all the views you get of lush, green hills.
Then you arrive at the bridge. On one side, you can view the whole bridge and see all nine arches. But I love the photo I took from the other side, where you can feel the surrounding jungle.
Step 1
I always start with a pencil sketch. The first brushstrokes of color usually create the sky, but in this case, I started with the bridge itself. With the wet-in-wet technique, I recreated the aged and weathered appearance of the bridge. The tree trunks frame the rest of the picture and give it structure.
Step 2
For this Illustration, I worked looser than usual. After I was happy with the bridge and the amount of shadows and details, I added some blue for the sky and started on the greenery.
Step 3
The bridge and the tree trunks range from light brown to gray, so I made sure to use a wide range of different greens for some color variety. Always start with a light wash and add the details later.
Step 4
The green behind the bridge is kept very pale to show the distance we, as viewers, have to that part of the scene. Layer by layer, more details on the tree trunks and the plants in the foreground bring everything together.
Step 5
To give the impression you view the bridge through the jungle, I added the palm leaves on top of the gray tree trunks. dark green shadows create the form of the banana leaves on the ground.
Watch the full painting process on YouTube and see some of the footage we took on location. We also took a ride on the famous blue train. You can watch me paint the whole sketchbook page here.
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