5 WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUES for TREES

There are almost as many ways to paint trees, as there are artists to paint them.

 Here are 5 different tree studies, with a variety of approaches you might try:



1)  BASIC TREE STUDY --

Sketch a tree in pencil, and then lay in the foliage and grass, with a light mingling of yellows & greens (quinacridone gold & sap green). . .

Wet each shape again, and add some darker/cooler greens & blues (quinacridone burnt orange/sap green and sap green/cobalt blue), to suggest volume.  Keep the first light/warm wash visible at the top of the clumps. . . 

When this has dried, paint the trunk, branches, and a simple cast shadow (using quinacridone bt orange, perylene maroon, and French Ultramarine).  Add a few dark marks for emphasis in the leaves. . . 

2)  UNDERPAINTING/SALT/NEGATIVE PAINTING -- Tree in Autumn

Do a mingling (wet-in-wet) of warm colors.  When the wash has just a "sheen" to it, sprinkle on some salt, and let it dry completely. . . 

After it's dry, brush off the salt, and draw a simple tree and grassy foreground line.  Paint the negative shapes with a mingling of colors (golds, oranges, reds, and a bit of green). . . 

3)  SPATTERING/MISTING -- Flowering Tree in the Spring

Draw a tree, lightly in pencil.  Paint the trunk and branches first . . . 

Loosely cover up the areas that you don't want spattered, and mist the exposed area with clear water . . . 

While these drops are wet, spatter some pinks and reds and magentas, and a little green.  Use a brush for this, tapping your finger to spatter the paint.  Then, spatter on some clear water, and then touch some of these drops with a brush loaded with the paint (pink, red, or magenta).  Let your brush "dance" across the paper, dropping in paint in a "lacy" way. . . 

4)  MASKING & MINGLING -- Palm Trees

Draw a palm tree, or two, in pencil. Then, paint a wet-in-wet underpainting, with quinacridone gold, cobalt blue, and quinacridone rose. . . 

Using watered-down masking fluid and a quill pen, apply the mask to the negative shapes -- everything other than the palm trees. . . (apply this with a Q-tip to the big shapes).

When this is completely dry, mist your paper with clear water, and mingle and spatter your warm colors -- (quinacridone gold and burnt orange, sap green, for the mingling; and cadmium red and cerulean blue, for the spattering) --

Let this dry completely, and then remove all the masking (with a rubber cement eraser, or your fingers).

5)  RAINBOW OF BACKGROUND COLORS -- Stylized Trees

In pencil, draw a group of stylized trees -- interweaving trunks and branches, with no leaves.  Take them right off the top and sides of your paper.  Then, draw a few wavy, horizontal lines, behind the trees. . . 

Leave the trees white, and paint the background shapes, in a rainbow of colors.  When the background is dry, erase all the pencil lines. . . 

   

Announcing OCTOBER WORKSHOP IN OHIO

I'm excited to be offering my 1st annual workshop in Ohio, where I was born and raised . . . 

BEGINNING WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP

IN OHIO

2 DAYS of Drawing & Painting with Pat Howard

WHEN:     Tuesday, October 16 & Wednesday, October 17, 2012

WHERE:   Uniontown Community Center

                  3696 Apollo St, NW

                  Uniontown, OH  44685

TIME:        10 AM - 3 PM, each day

PRICE:      $150, for the 2-day workshop (includes a light lunch & beverage)

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All levels are welcome -- beginners and begin-againers.  The only requirement is a desire to learn and experiment, and to have some fun in the process!  

Lots of individual attention and instruction, with plenty of time to paint -- in a friendly and positive atmosphere.  Get ready to stretch yourself and surprise yourself!

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To register for this workshop, or for more information, contact Pat by e-mail:

thepaintedprism@gmail.com

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This workshop is perfect for beginning artists, just starting to explore watercolor, as well as more experienced artists, looking to try something different.  We will start with the basics and then move beyond, to unlock your creativity.  

In these two days, I will present a variety of exercises and projects that will encourage students to open up and experiment.  It should be fun!

SKETCHBOOK ASSIGNMENT: Trees & Leaves -- 10 Exercises to Try

For our next theme, Trees & Leaves, we'll start out working in our sketchbooks again.  So, grab your pens and pencils, sketchbooks, and a few colored pencils, brushes, and watercolor paints, and head outside for some nature drawing.  Save the inside exercises for a rainy day . . .



1)  Draw a scene, with trees in your yard, in pen.  Then, add some color with your watercolors.  Write about your experience, in one sentence, on your page . . .

Now, go for a little hike or walk.  Stop at a place that appeals to you, and draw some of the trees in ink.  Write about where you are, and then add some color with watercolor -- either on the spot, or after you return home. . . 

2)  Draw a bird's-eye view of a plant -- either a houseplant or a plant in your garden.  Draw this in pencil, and then add some color with colored pencils. . . 

Do another bird's-eye view of a plant -- this time, draw a contour drawing in pen . . . 

3)  Draw one or two trees, like fruit trees.  Simplify the shapes -- draw clumps of leaves and not individual leaves.  Add values with shading, to get some depth.  Draw some with pencil . . . 

This time, try drawing a tree with a ballpoint pen . . . 

4)  In ink, draw some plants in pots or planters, on your deck or patio -- or a friend's plants.  Place special emphasis on the leaves, rather than the flowers.  Paint in a little color, and remember to note where you are, on the page . . . 

5)  Draw a tree, concentrating on the trunk and the branches, and any cast shadow that you see.  Try to ignore the leaves.  Use a black ballpoint pen for this one, using cross-hatching and line work for your light/medium/dark values, and write a little something about where you are . . . 

Now, draw another tree -- this time in pencil.  Draw a frame around it, letting some of the branches spill out of the frame. . . 

6)  Draw a leafy plant, with a black ballpoint pen -- start with a contour drawing, and add a little cross-hatching for your values.  Then, write a few sentences about your day, on the page . . . 

7)  Draw some palm trees, in ink.  Add cross-hatching for the shapes that are in the shade.  In this drawing, just have two values -- the white of the paper for all the shapes that are in the sunlight (plus the sky), and a middle value of cross-hatching, for all the shapes in the shade.

If, like me, you don't live around any palm trees, use a photo -- one you have taken on vacation, or one from a magazine. . . 

8)  Do a contour drawing of a plant, with a black felt pen -- no pencil first, and no cross-hatching. . . 

9)  When you're camping, or on a hike or walk, find an interesting piece of petrified wood, or a stick, or  some driftwood on a beach.  Draw this with a black felt pen that is NOT waterproof (or a pen called "Elegant Writer").  When you are through with your drawing, use a wet brush on some of the lines, allowing them to bleed -- a great way to add some shading  . . .  

Using this same pen, draw a scene with trees and bushes, near your campsite or picnic site, or in your backyard . . . 

10)  Gather some leaves from your trees  -- and draw them in pencil, within a skinny vertical format.  Overlap the leaf shapes, and be aware of the negative shapes that you are creating.  Try to make these negative shapes interesting and varied . . . 

SLIDESHOW: Art Adventure Loveland

Here are pix from the first half of my Art Adventure Weekend, with my two granddaughters.  We were busy with our art projects, morning and evening, in our hotel room in Loveland, Colorado.  When they weren't creating their own art, the girls were hanging out with me at Columbine Gallery, where I show my work, and where I was painting a watercolor demo in their beautiful sculpture garden.

music is "Just Kids", by Brandi Carlile

We returned to Denver for the 2nd half of our Art Adventure Weekend, where we visited (and took lots of pictures at) the Denver Botanical Gardens and the Denver Art Museum.

Next year, they may return to my home/studio in Durango, for our Art Camp, like last year.  Or, we may think of something totally different . . .

MY 7TH ANNUAL WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP

DESIGN & COMPOSITION

WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP

with Pat Howard

4 days -- September 14 - 17, 2012

(you can attend 1, 2, 3, or all 4 days)

Scenes from past workshops

Days 1 & 2 (Fri/Sat) -- Watercolor & Design Basics, for the beginner and advanced beginner

Days 3 & 4 (Sun/Mon) -- All skill levels are welcome, although the first 2 days are recommended first,      for the beginner

9 am - 4 pm daily, at Pat's house & studio, in Durango, Colorado

Price (includes gourmet lunch & beverages, each day):

$325 -  all 4 days

$250 - any 3 days

$175 - any 2 days

$100 -  any 1 day

Contact Pat at: thepaintedprism@gmail.com

Lots of individual attention and instruction, with plenty of time for painting.

Friendly and positive atmosphere, with a different lesson and project each day, with critique and discussion of works-in-progress at the end of each day.

Get ready to stretch yourself, loosen up, and work hard -- but still have fun, laugh, and eat well, of course!

TOP TEN: Paintings & Quotes -- All About RED

The paintings are mine; the quotes are by others.  Most of those quoted are artists -- painters and designers . . .


1)  Red is the ultimate cure for sadness.   - Bill Blass

2)  It is not pure fantasy to say that the color red is like the sound of a trumpet.   - Joyce Carey

3)  Painters use red like spice.    - Derek Jarman

4)  I want a red to be sonorous, to sound like a bell.  If it doesn't turn out that way, I add more reds and other colors until I get it.    - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

5)  Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue.  Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are, or people might think we're stupid.    - Jules Feiffer

6)  My mother warned me to avoid things colored red.    - Claes Oldenburg

7)  You can't go wrong with the use of red; every painting should have red in it.  - George De Groat  

8)  A certain blue enters your soul.  A certain red has an effect on your blood pressure. . . and

A thimbleful of red is redder than a bucketful.    - Henri Matisse

9)  Of all the hues, reds have the most potency.  If there is one electric blue, a dozen reds are so charged.  Use them to punctuate white, burn into bronzes, or dynamite black.  -Jack Lenor Larsen

10)  Oh, yes!  He loved yellow, did good Vincent . . . when the two of us were together in Arles, both of us insane, and constantly at war over beautiful colors, I adored red; where could I find a perfect vermilion?    - Paul Gauguin

WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP: Painting Red Poppies

Follow along with me in this step-by-step project -- painting some red poppies that really pop!

To download a PDF of this tutorial, for $6, click here.

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Gather some poppy references, or use my drawing . . . 

Draw the poppies onto your watercolor paper, with some leaves and buds.  Then, draw a "frame" around your drawing, but inside some of the petals and leaves -- so it looks as if the flowers are bursting out of the frame. . . 

Now, prepare your paints.  For the poppies, you'll need a yellow, a warm red (like Cadmium or Winsor Red), and one or two cool reds (like Quinacridone or Permanent Rose, and Permanent Alizarin Crimson).

Working on one petal at a time, mingle these colors -- wet-in-wet.  Wet each petal with clear water, and then start with the yellow on the outer edge of the petal, then add the warm red, and then finish painting the petal with the cool red . . . 

 Don't dwell on any one petal -- just mingle the colors, and then move onto the next.  With some of the petals, start with the warm red and then add the cool reds to the mingling.

  You'll notice as you're painting, that the colors will dry a little "duller" than when they were wet.  Don't worry about that -- and don't go back into it, at this point.  Just keep painting working your way around the blossom, until all the petals are painted. . . 

Now that the paint is dry, do another mingling on those petals that you think are too dull.  This time, paint on dry paper, starting with your cool red where the petal "under-laps" the petal on top -- then, add your warm red, then finish the petal with clear water, out to the edge.  

While painting, try for the following:  1) Keep it transparent with lots of water, 2) Don't cover up all the yellow from your first layer with the red,  3) Leave some of the petals that are on top, as is; and, 4) Try not to "blot" your painting with a paper towel or rag, as you work.  Even if you have little puddles of paint, try to let them dry naturally.  Since you are working on a level surface, the puddle isn't going anywhere, and if you let the watercolor do its thing, you'll get some interesting results.  The trick is to be "out of control", within a controlled shape.

To set some of the petals back, or under the other petals, paint them now, using Alizarin Crimson or Magenta or Maroon.  

Then, mix up some dark colors -- Alizarin Crimson mixed with Maroon or Burnt Sienna, a Purple (Alizarin Crimson plus French Ultramarine), and a Black (French Ultramarine plus Burnt Sienna plus Magenta or Maroon).  Paint the dark middles of the flowers -- paint onto dry paper with your juicy mixtures.  First red, then purple around that, and a little black around the edges.  This will all mix together, but you will see each of the colors.

Now, paint a yellow underpainting on your leaves and stems. . . 

Paint the leaves and stems with a green wash (Sap Green, or a mixture of Cobalt Blue and Aureolin Yellow).  Drop in a little Cobalt Blue . . . 

Now, we'll finish by painting the background.  We're going to paint WITHIN the frame, and leave the outer frame white.  Mix up a dark blue, using French Ultramarine with a little Burnt Orange to darken the blue.  Paint the background shapes, wet on dry.  When the paint is almost dry, mist it with clear water, to get a little texture. . . 

If you'd rather have a PDF of this tutorial, for $6, click here.

The tutorial PDF is nice, because you can print it out and have it next to you as you paint.  There is one step and one image per page.  The PDF also includes my "Ten Things to Know about the Color RED".

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