Table of Contents
This set of winter watercolor paintings gives you fourteen cozy scenes ready to paint today, no drawing required. Each one starts as a clean black outline built from a few big simple shapes, easy to trace and easier still to fill with color.
Print the outline at the size you want, then transfer it to your watercolor paper against a sunny window, on a light pad, or with graphite transfer paper. Tape the finished example nearby so you can check colors and order as you go, then paint or color at your own pace.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Winter Barn in the Snow
Wash the sky first with a pale grey-blue, letting it fade lighter near the horizon while still damp. Once dry, paint the barn in a flat barn red, leaving the roofline crisp, then add a darker red along the shaded side for a touch of form. Keep the snow as bare white paper with just a thin grey-blue shadow line under the barn to seat it on the ground, which is the one touch that makes the whole scene read as finished.
Palette: Barn Red,Payne’s Grey,Burnt Umber,Titanium White
Snowy Mountains
Lay a soft lavender-pink wash across the sky while the paper is still damp, then drop in a cooler blue-grey for the furthest peaks so they blend softly at the edges. Paint the closer mountains in a slightly deeper blue-violet once the first layer dries, leaving jagged white peaks untouched for snow caps. A thin line of shadow along one side of each ridge gives the whole range a sense of light coming from one direction.
Palette: Cerulean Blue,Lavender,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White
Snowy Cabin With Smoke
Start with the sky in a dusky blue-purple wash, keeping it soft and even, then let it dry fully before adding the cabin. Paint the log walls in warm brown with a darker line for each log, and drop a small patch of warm yellow into the window so it glows against the cool scene. Add the smoke last with a very dry, pale grey brush dragged lightly upward, which keeps it soft instead of looking like a scribble.
Palette: Burnt Sienna,Indigo,Naples Yellow,Payne’s Grey
Pine Tree With Snow
Paint the tree in a deep green from the top down, working in loose triangular layers so each tier reads clearly rather than blending into one shape. While each layer is still slightly damp, touch a bit of darker green into the base of that tier for depth. Leave small untouched patches of white paper along the branch tips and in the gaps between tiers to stand in for fresh snow, which is the detail that sells the whole idea.
Palette: Hooker’s Green,Sap Green,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White
If branches feel fiddly to trace, simplify the pine into three or four big triangular tiers rather than many small ones, it still reads clearly as a snowy evergreen.
Snowman With a Scarf
Leave the snowman’s body as bare white paper and paint only the small details: a black triangle nose made orange instead for the carrot, two tiny dark dots for eyes, and a row of dot buttons down the front. Paint the scarf in bold stripes of red and a contrasting cream, letting the colors sit next to each other wet rather than overlapping. A thin pale blue shadow line along one side of each snowball gives the round shapes some gentle form without any real shading.
Palette: Cadmium Red,Cream,Orange,Ivory Black
Cardinal on a Snowy Branch
Paint the cardinal’s body in a bold red wash, leaving the wing area slightly lighter by adding a touch more water there so the feathers separate softly. Add the black mask around the beak and eye once the red has dried so the edges stay crisp instead of bleeding. Paint the branch in a simple warm brown with small soft white patches left bare on top for the snow sitting along its length.
Palette: Cadmium Red,Ivory Black,Burnt Umber,Titanium White
Sled by a Fence
Paint the fence rails first in a weathered grey-brown, keeping the strokes a little uneven so the wood looks aged rather than new. Once dry, paint the sled’s wooden slats in a warmer brown and its curved runners in a cheerful red, leaving thin white gaps between the slats for snow catching on top. A soft grey-blue shadow where the sled meets the fence anchors both shapes to the ground.
Palette: Burnt Sienna,Cadmium Red,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White
Frozen Pond With Skates
Wash the pond’s ice in a very pale blue, leaving streaks of bare white paper untouched so the surface looks reflective rather than flat. Once dry, add a few thin curving lines in a slightly darker blue for cracks, keeping your brush dry so the lines stay crisp. Paint the skate boots in a rich brown leather tone and the blades in a cool grey, with the laces left as thin bare lines for contrast.
Palette: Cerulean Blue,Burnt Umber,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White
Snowy Village Church
Wash the sky in a gentle pink-grey, the kind of color a winter dusk carries, and let it dry completely before touching the church. Keep the chapel walls as bare white paper and paint only the roof, steeple trim and round window in a warm charcoal grey so the building still reads clearly against the sky. A single soft wash of pale blue shadow along the base grounds the chapel in its own snow.
Palette: Payne’s Grey,Pink Grey,Charcoal Grey,Titanium White
For more ideas built the same simple way, the cottagecore cottage paintings use the same trick of leaving walls bare and painting only trim and roofline.
Winter Birch Tree
Leave the trunk as bare white paper and paint only short, loose horizontal dashes of dark grey-black up its length, spacing them unevenly the way real birch bark marks fall. Paint the thin branches with a fine brush in a soft grey-brown, letting them taper naturally as they reach the top. A few small smudges of pale blue-grey shadow along one side of the trunk give it just enough form to stand off the page.
Palette: Ivory Black,Payne’s Grey,Burnt Umber,Titanium White
Red Mitten Pair
Paint both mittens in one flat coat of warm red, working quickly so the color stays even across each shape. While still damp, add a slightly deeper red along the inner edges where the mittens sit close together, letting it blend softly into the first wash. Once dry, paint the cuffs in a contrasting cream with a row of simple knit lines scratched in with the tip of a dry brush, the finishing touch that makes them look knitted rather than flat.
Palette: Cadmium Red,Deep Red,Cream,Titanium White
Mug of Cocoa
Paint the mug in a soft sage or cream color, keeping the wash flat and even, then add a slightly darker line along one edge for the handle’s shadow. Fill the cup with a rich warm brown for the cocoa, leaving a thin white rim at the top edge of the liquid. Paint the marshmallows as simple white bumps with the faintest grey shadow underneath each one, and add the steam last with a very pale, dry-brushed grey line curling gently upward.
Palette: Burnt Sienna,Sage Green,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White
If a warm drink scene appeals to you, the coffee junk journal pages carry the same cozy mood into a different format worth a look.
Deer in the Snow
Paint the deer’s body in one warm brown wash, keeping the shape smooth and simple, then drop a slightly darker brown along the back and legs while the first layer is still damp so the two colors blend softly. Leave the belly and inner ear as bare white paper for contrast. Paint the antlers and legs with a fine brush in a darker grey-brown once everything else has dried, which keeps those thin shapes crisp and easy to trace in the first place.
Palette: Burnt Sienna,Burnt Umber,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White
Snowy Lamppost
Paint the post itself in a flat black or deep charcoal, keeping the curve smooth with one confident brushstroke rather than several short ones. Once dry, paint the lantern glass in a warm glowing yellow, letting a touch of orange bleed into its center while still wet. A soft circle of pale yellow washed loosely around the lantern on the white paper suggests the glow spilling into the snowy evening air.
Palette: Ivory Black,Naples Yellow,Orange,Titanium White
For more cozy winter subjects built from similarly simple shapes, the winter doodles for beginners make a nice companion set to trace alongside this one.
What to Do Next
Pick whichever scene suits your mood, print its outline, and transfer it to your watercolor paper before you sit down to paint. Work through the color order given for each one, keep the finished example close by, and let the first wash dry fully before you add the next.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size should I print the outlines?
Print at standard letter or A4 size for most templates, which fits a quarter or half sheet of watercolor paper comfortably. Enlarge on a home printer or at a copy shop if you want a bigger finished painting.
What paper works best for these paintings?
Cold press watercolor paper of at least 140lb weight holds washes and blending without buckling or tearing. Avoid plain printer paper, it will warp and pill once it gets wet with paint.
How do I transfer the outline onto watercolor paper?
Tape the printed outline and your watercolor paper together over a sunny window or light pad, then trace the lines through with a pencil. Graphite transfer paper works just as well if you prefer working flat on a table.
Can I use colored pencils or markers instead of watercolor?
Yes, every outline works equally well with colored pencils or markers, just follow the same color placement described for each piece. Blend pencil layers with light pressure first, then build up darker tones gradually.
What if my lines do not match the outline exactly?
That is completely fine, the outline is only a guide and small wobbles will not show once paint covers the shapes. Focus on getting the big shapes in roughly the right place rather than tracing perfectly.
Have any thoughts?
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