Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) temple

Trees surround ancient buildings and create big shapes of light and shade. When I planned this painting of the Silver Pavilion, I wanted to focus on how the dark greens in the trees make the roof pop out. By putting cool cerulean blue on the top roof and warm dark shades under the eaves, the temple instantly gets a real sense of weight and place. Watercolour works best when you let big dark areas work against clean soft lights.

Getting the water right was a fun challenge. I used a mix of viridian green, cobalt blue, and a little burnt sienna to paint the soft reflection in the quiet pond below. Instead of painting every single ripple, I swept big soft strokes down the paper while the paper was still damp. This creates that calm mirror effect without making the scene look overworked or messy.

Notice how the dark foliage frames the light building in the middle. I kept the bright green tones near the back to catch the sun, while using neutral tint mixed with ultramarine blue for the deepest shadows under the branches. A few tiny strokes of white paint at the end helped bring out highlights on the edges of the roof and water.