I have had the pleasure of watching some artists who started out painting trees with branches that had no contours, and looked as if they were growing from the tree trunk at “right angles”, to confidently painting superb specimens!
It’s all about observation! Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to look at trees everyday. There are two main points to master in the art of painting trees. (I am referring to our Australian Gum trees and most varieties)
Number one: the tree trunks will always be larger at the bottom and taper in as the trunk grows upwards, Number two: the branches will grow from the main trunk in the same way, larger at the tree trunk and getting smaller towards the tips if the branch, of course as they grow more branches come off these branches, but the same principles apply.
STEP 1
Having chosen an interesting specimen” I draw my tree. I am working on a 30cm x 50cm sheet of 600g Hot Pressed watercolour paper. I already have an idea of colours and design. I have “cropped” the tree in this instance as I found this middle section was much more interesting, I decided to add the leaves at this stage to create a much better balance.
STEP 2
Working wet in wet I have painted a wash of Prussian blue at the top of the sky then blending down towards the bottom adding Raw Sienna to the mix. I allowed this to dry before going on to the tree trunk. Having established my light source ( from the right hand side ) I begin creating my shadows (on the left side) of my tree. For this I have used Ultramarine, Burnt umber and Violet.
STEP 3
I started to paint the tree using Raw Sienna, Burnt umber, Violet and a little Yellow ochre. I wet the section before dropping the paint in and allow the paint to have its way on the tree trunk! I intensify the colours for the bark of the tree, keeping the colours rich and warm on the sunlit side and darker on the outer edges and underside of the bark.
STEP 4
Now it is simply a matter of building up colours on the tree trunk and bark. I have also added some leaves using a very light wash of Cobalt and Viridian. I have darkened the shadows and intensified the colours in the bark, all using the same colours I have used so far. Most importantly when painting trees are the shadows cast across the trunk and branches from the other branches, here I have used a Burnt umber, Violet and Raw Sienna wash for this.
STEP 5
More work is required on the bark and I have added Light Grey to the outer bark to achieve that weathered look, Burnt umber, Ultramarine and Warm White were used for this.
STEP 6
Time for the leaves! Viridian, Yellow ochre, Violet and Cobalt in varying tonal washes were used to build up the foliage, I have also added Raw Sienna for the dried leaves. I have intensified the sunlight on the tree and branches using Yellow ochre, Warm white and a little Yellow light.
STEP 7 FINAL
After I had set the painting aside for a day I went back and added some more leaves, darkened the edges of the bark using straight Burnt umber and once happy I signed the painting. Trees need not be the subject that brings fear to your mind, just as with most things all you need is observation and practise, practise, practise! Happy painting!
ARTIST’S TIP
• Draw as many different varieties of trees as you can and really note how they grow out from the ground and how the branches grow out from the trunk, once you have mastered these contours the sky is the limit, literally!
• When drawing a full length tree take care not to add the top foliage too soon as this will make your tree look out of proportion, the branches at the top of a tree should taper and then burst into foliage, for instance when drawing, if your tree is 4 cm at the base of the trunk then you won’t start adding too much foliage until it measures around 20 cm high and possibly finishing the whole tree at around 50 cm. Most paintings where the tree is a feature are painted from the base of the trunk and go up branching out but don’t actually show the very top of the tree, this is because the tree would need to be considerably tall to be in proportion.
