Painting Trees in Watercolor Tutorial

Painting trees in watercolor is a simple process when using watercolor techniques. This step by step process results in a multi-layer painting with depth and personality.

Painting Trees in Watercolor – Sketch and Composition

Trees are surrounded by foliage and the tree trunk appears in and out of the greenery. It Disappears behind the leaves, spreading in different directions. Roughly sketch the trunk of the tree, include parts of the trunk overlapping with other trees.

 

Distinguish the different areas, such as where the sky surrounds and appears through the trees, the areas of foliage, as well as the undergrowth around the tree. Sketch the outline of the leaves that draw your attention. When painting trees in watercolor you don’t paint all the individual leaves, instead paint the green area as a whole, with a few individualized leaves that are distinguishable in the foreground. The best and most honest way to paint a tree is through observation. Trees can be awkward, straight, playful or delicate. Observe these character distinctions before you begin your sketch.

The inspiration for this watercolor tree painting came from observing the trees outside my window. The techniques used in this close up perspective can also be used when painting a tree in a landscape setting.

Painting Trees in Watercolor – Wash and Wet on Wet Technique

Dilute yellow paint with water in your palette. Then dilute blue paint with water in a separate pool in your palette. Wash the areas of sunny sky with the yellow paint and the blue sky with the blue paint. In the areas closest to the tree branches, overlap and mix the two colors.  This gives the effect of the sky poking through the leaves. The yellow and blue paint mixed together make green paint. The green paint will depict the leaves, the pure yellow paint depicts the sunshine, while the blue paint will create the blue sky.

Apply a wash of two shades of green paint to the foliage areas. Use the lighter of the two green shades in the areas that are directly in the light source and the darker shade where there are shadows and thicker growth. Dab a flat square brush to leave a delicate leaf texture. The light and dark greens should be intermixed in the wet on wet technique, since the light flows through the leaves sporadically. Apply a base wash to the trunk and branches in a light brown or gray. Always consider the fluid and organic nature of a tree. Soft and hard lines are mixed and random patterns can develop. Your painting should reflect the organic lines of nature.

Painting Trees in Watercolor – Dry-Brush Technique

There are layers to the dry-brush technique. When painting the details on the the tree trunk you are going to want to use light, medium and dark shades. They should overlap to create shadow and texture. Use a small brush with undiluted paint and scratch along the sketch lines with the dark shade, then with a round brush dab and swipe the paint to achieve a smooth texture.

To add detail to the leaves, dab and move your brush up and down or side to side. Alternating the brush strokes to give the floppy smooth texture of leaves on a tree. Use light and dark shades of green and mix them with your small brush on the paper. This will mix the two shades of green organically and naturally achieve a medium shade of green, to further develop the shadows and depth in the painting. Continue adding the leaf detail over and around the branches and the tree trunk making purposeful choices.

Painting Trees in Watercolor – Finishing Touches

The last step when painting trees in watercolor is to let the painting dry and return with fresh eyes to the work. Add detail using the dry-brush technique or take away detail by applying a glaze over an area that has been overworked and needs to be pushed to the background. A successful painting has a balance of shadows and accurate perspective. A unique painting has rhythm and pattern in the details.