Ask a mountaineer why they climb mountains and they usual reply “Because it’s there…”. That basically sums up my relationship with painting trees. Trees in watercolour are challenging but essential in most landscape paintings.

When did I realise I was rubbish at painting trees?

It occurred to me a week before I was invited to take part in the Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year competition in 2015, I worked out that as it was a landscape competition, it would probably be a good idea if I could actually paint a decent tree.

WARNING – what follows next might make you laugh, so don’t read this on the train or the Doctor’s surgery.

OK how hard can it be to paint trees I thought?

I’d been teaching myself to paint for two years, but oddly had overlooked learning to paint trees (and erm leaves)…

So I set aside an afternoon to do something about that.

And after 3 hours slugging it out over several sheets of paper, I realised the scale of the problem. No matter how hard I tried, what I produced didn’t look anything like a tree. Or anything that grows naturally in the landscape. This didn’t instil a great deal of confidence in my ability, and probably contributed to a bit of a melt-down after said painting competion.

How bad was my painting really?

Put it this way, most parents have at some point been handed the odd painting created by their child at Nursery School. Believe me, my tree wasn’t even THAT good! If your son or daughter had brought my effort home it would go straight into the rabbit hutch. No question.

But in the interests of Art, and total transparency, I’ve decided to share with you my very first attempt at painting a tree.

OK here is that very tree…

Yep. Total disaster…A blob, Alien species? At worst a smudge. At best a broccoli.

The leaves and branches are totally out of proportion to the rest of the tree. The foliage isn’t the right shade of green and doesn’t remotely resemble leaves does it?

OK you can stop laughing…

I’ve since worked out my first mistake. The brushes I used were completely wrong. I used a round brush instead of a flat or angled brush which produces more realistic leaves; and my use of paint was over generous. I didn’t really understand how to control watercolour back then either. All paint and not enough water.

I’ve since learnt that the skill required to paint trees in watercolour is as much about suggesting leaves, and allowing the light in. It’s not about painting every single leaf either. Watercolour also requires keen observation skills, and really looking and seeing what’s there.

So, it turns out painting trees is pretty difficult. And after spending an entire afternoon painting dozens and dozens of them, and becoming increasingly more despondent at the results – I realised I needed further study. To be frank – months of practise to get it right.

I was therefore in trouble. The painting competition was less than a week away…oh dear.

Guess what? It didn’t end well.

But in the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, I resisted the urge to put my efforts through the shredder, and I’ve kept them as a reminder of how far I’ve progressed in my artistic career. Filed away in a large crate. Besides, if my early work on trees went into the recycling, I have visions of the Bin Men rolling around helpless with laughter outside in the street. “That’s a tree?!”

Thankfully, I’ve almost mastered the skill now – here’s an example just to prove I have actually moved forward. And I am more confident about including the odd tree or two in my landscapes.

Some advice for budding artists

If you’re an aspiring artist and are struggling with a particular subject, like trees for example. Don’t give up. Keep practising.

1. Begin by painting in the tree trunk and larg ranchr first very light layer down using a wet in wet approach and allow that to dry before applying the next layer.
2. You can paint the suggestion of leaves in the first layer as darker more detailed layers will go on top.Her is your opportunity to get an idea ofnthe overall shape of the tree. Keep an eye on the bigger picture and make sure the leafe canopy od in proportion to the trunk.
3. Apply the leaves in groups making sure you allow the light in. These gaps are called sky holes and this is where you can place smaller branches right at the end.
4. Gradually add the darker leaves reserving the darker leaves for lower down under the leaf canopy to suggest shade.
5. Pease keep your work so you can look back and have a good laugh. When you finally move forward you can pat yourself on the back, when you realise you’ve achieved your objective and climbed that mountain. Even if it does take you a few more months, or in my case several years.
6. Remember to paint light from dark and resist the urge to go heavy on the paint early on.
7. You don’t need to paint every single leaf.
8. An angled or small flat brush produces more realistic leaves, but experiment and see what you feel more comfortable with.
9. Complete the tree by adding the very fine branches and twigs within the gaps. I use a line and twig brush specifically designed for this purpose and produces much more delicate lines.
10. Make several studies as experiments first before you include them in an artwork. That way you can iron out any issues early on before you commit to a bigger project.

What’s been your biggest artistic challenge and how did you overcome it in the end?

Warmest regards

Wendy