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Materials

Paint
Phthalo Blue
Burnt Sienna
Quinacridone Gold

Brushes
1” Flat Brush
1/2” Bristle Brush
#2 Rigger Brush

Paper
1/4 or 1/8 sheet
Cold Pressed or Rough
Old Towel to wipe
your brushes on
Paper towel


© john lovett MMVIII

Easy Trees - Fir Trees

The secret to success here is to use your 1/2” bristle brush as lightly and delicately as possible. See which bristles stick out the most and use them, barely touching the paper, to carefully sketch in the foliage shapes. Take notice of the changing brush pressure in the demonstration on the splashing paint DVD.

Tips

  • Creating Depth You will notice in the demonstration, I put the dark, central tree in first, followed by the lighter distant trees. To create a stronger sense of depth try painting the paler, distant trees first, letting them dry, then painting the darker tree over the top. Once you gain confidence with the trees, a cool grey backdrop of distant mountains could be put in and allowed to dry before painting the trees.

  • Color Variation Keep varying the color slightly as you paint. As well as a tonal variation, color variation keeps the group of trees alive and interesting.

  • Substitute Colors Prussian or Windsor blue can be used if you don’t have Phthalo Blue. Indian Yellow can be used in place of Quinacridone Gold

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