8863 Mountain Close-up
Jerry Yarnell – Inspiration of Painting PBS Television Series

A towering snow-covered mountain dominates the scene, rising sharply into a soft sky with misty lower slopes and distant tree silhouettes fading into atmospheric depth. In this beginner level acrylic painting lesson, Jerry guides you step-by-step through creating this dramatic close-up landscape in an 83 minute session on an 18x24 canvas, focusing on bold form, light, and shadow across rugged terrain.

You’ll learn how to construct strong mountain shapes using angular planes and value contrast to create convincing rock faces and snow-covered ridges. Jerry demonstrates how to block in major forms first, then refine edges and highlights to bring structure and realism to the mountain.

Special focus is given to painting snow and light using layered color and controlled blending, avoiding flat whites while capturing the subtle shifts in color temperature. You’ll also explore how to create atmospheric perspective in the lower areas, allowing distant trees and slopes to recede naturally into space.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll gain confidence in painting mountains with strong form and depth, understanding how to handle light across complex surfaces, and creating dramatic focal points within a landscape. This is an excellent project for beginners looking to strengthen their skills while producing a bold and visually striking mountain scene.