Painting Masses of Trees

Tree Paintings

Notes From My Tree Painting Journal

Though I paint a lot of single trees, I also love to paint masses of trees. More difficult to me. Massed trees behave differently. They tend to fight for space. Here in Florida I notice that there is a dark rich value to the lower areas of massed trees. The tops fight for the sun and late in the day the light bounces around the edges and the tops creating bands of ochre and orange along the tops. You have this wonderful combination of deep cool green gradually becoming very warm and light in bands across the top. In the winter months I see lots of red in the trunks as well as purple and blue.The color palette in Florida during the winter is lush and subtle. WONDERFUL!!!

I'm teaching a plein air workshop in February of 2013 during the best part of the winter tree palette season here in north Florida. HERE I have nine spaces left.

Serenity oak

Tree Paintings

Notes From My Tree Painting Journal

This is my second painting of this beautiful tree. I sold the first one recently, so now I get to study it some more. This one is 24x24 inches on stretched canvas. This is a difficult tree to paint. There are so many parts to the trunk and the splits are quite low.

My Palette:

cad orange

cad yellow medium

cad lemon yellow

mars black

titanium white

ultramarine blue

trans red iron oxide

It was great fun and it took me three sessions to finish it.

Live Oak Trees

Tree Paintings

Notes From my Tree Painting Journal

This is a scene from beautiful Fair Oaks in Evinston Florida. I love the way the branches dip down from the tree forming lovely arches. Sometimes the canopies run along the ground from these low branches. They form natural portals.

This painting is 20x24 inches, oil on canvas.

The palette:

cad lemon yellow

Naples yellow light

ub

thalo blue red shade

cad red light

ivory black

titanium white

I really enjoyed doing this painting.