However you spell watercolo(u)r, 🤓 I made a video for those interested in learning how to paint trees. These are simple techniques and each one takes under 5 minutes (some under 2 minutes). The first technique is a WOW – wet on wet technique, which is perfect for painting evergreen trees that are far off in the distance because the effect is uniquely blurry (example below).

To create this effect, dab the brush on wet paper, side to side, slightly tilting the paper downward so that the paint can bleed into the desired tree shape (more detail on that in the video).

The next 2 examples are WOD techniques – wet on dry paper. The first example is an evergreen with a conical shape, which is effective for middle distance. To achieve this effect, paint the stem first to establish where the tree will be painted. Then, use a 1/4 inch flat brush to paint in the branches, brushing out from the center stem, loosely and haphazardly. The more irregular the better – to make the tree more interesting.

For the final example, I wanted to demonstrate a tree with a bit more dimension. This is probably the most difficult example, but the greater the difficulty- oftentimes, the greater the reward. In this example, we determine direction of light (from the right) and paint the shadow side (left) to add greater dimension. This effect works well for short distance and middle distance trees. The shape of this tree is one that fits both evergreens, such as, yews and deciduous trees, during the growing season.

The full video is available on YouTube!

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