Day 9 of the Christmas countdown. I started my painting this morning with a pencil sketch of 8 reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh. First I painted the night sky, then I added shapes for the reindeer that looked like blobs. But I wasn’t giving up – even when my 11 old said, “Want some advice? Don’t post that.” I added ink details, then I gave up, and started drawing one reindeer. It’s so much easier to add detail and work at something when you are working big.

For the night sky I used the same technique as my first attempt. Salt. If you’ve never used salt with watercolor before  – you sprinkle the salt on the painting when it’s wet. The salt absorbs some of the paint causing this cool crystal like effect. When the paint is completely dry, brush the salt off.

Marion has been drawing along with me. Here is her reindeer. On Instagram Teri is painting along. See her reindeer here. If you’d like to join in, tag adventmcr when posting.