Once the underpainting had dried I began adding washes of basic colors all over using #1 brush for small areas, #6 for medium and #10 for large. As mentioned before, I use watercolors by Yarka. The colors are specific to this brand of paints, but they echo the traditional colors. For example, Russian green very closely resembles the traditional viridian green, and Shakhnazarskaya Red is a lot like Indian red.

The colors used are as follows:

• the fairies: a mix of lake orange and rose for the skin, yellow green for the outfits, brilliant blue and cobalt blue for the wings, burnt sienna, mars brown and burnt umber for the hair;
• the sky: a mix of cobalt blue and ultramarine blue;
• the tree and the mountains: a mix of olive green and burnt umber;
• the water: a mix of brilliant blue with just a touch of emerald green;
• the candleholder: a mix of burnt umber and English red;
• the drapery: mix of violet rose and burnt sienna;
• the book cover: ultramarine blue with just a bit of burnt umber;
• the necklace: cobalt blue & cadmium yellow;
• the flowers: left - rose, middle - mix of ultramarine blue and violet rose, right - mix of ultramarine blue and violet;
• the ivy leaves and flower stems: a mix of Russian green and olive green;
• the grapes: a mix of yellow green and cadmium yellow, and a mix of ultramarine blue with just a bit of burnt umber for the few darker ones;
• the grape leaves: yellow green, olive green, burnt sienna;
• the apples: scarlet, yellow green and cadmium yellow;
• the candle, the frame and the pages of the book: a mix of brilliant blue and burnt sienna.