Broomsthorpe, West Norfolk. Watercolour 12” x 17½”

James Fletcher Watson encourages you to examine trees more closely in order to use them successfully in painting compositions, in an article from the June 1979 issue of Leisure Painter.

Trees form an important part of the landscape painter's repertoire and I strongly recommend the student to give some time to the study of this subject.

Finding your subject

The colour illustration of the country lane near Broomsthorpe, West Norfolk, above, is an example where the trees form the main part of the picture.

I came upon the scene quite by accident when I was cruising about this part of Norfolk with no particular subject in mind. Suddenly this view appeared and I pulled up the car abruptly; everything seemed right, the lighting, the fast moving clouds, the bend in the road and the disposition of trees formed a very good composition.

Of course the temptation is always there to drive a little further on in case the view around the next corner is even better! Experience, however, has taught one to grab a view at once and get on with it; exploring can wait till another day. This is a maxim worth remembering as one can waste a lot of time and lose good light and a paintable sky by looking for a subject for too long.

The painting process for Broomsthorpe, West Norfolk

I stood up to paint this picture, resting my board on the back of the car which is conveniently flat.

I more often sit on a stool for painting out of doors but in this case the subject called for fairly rapid painting and I think the standing position is sometimes easier for this. I will briefly describe my method of painting this picture.

The paper used is very slightly cream and has a “NOT” surface.

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Stage one

I first sketched in with pencil quite a faint outline of trees and road, etc., and then got quickly onto painting the sky.

Skies have an annoying habit on a windy day of changing all too quickly for the worse, so it is as well to get on with the sky while the going is good.

For the grey clouds I used a mixture of burnt umber and French ultramarine and for the bits of blue sky a watered-down Prussian blue with a touch of grey.

The sky was allowed to dry completely before painting anything else.

Stage two

I next used a yellowish green by mixing raw sienna and ultramarine to cover hedges and grass verges and distant fields on the right.

Stage three

The leaning oak tree in the middle distance was blocked in with a light mix of Prussian blue and burnt sienna, leaving narrow spaces of sky showing through in appropriate places.

The trees on the right received the same colour but a little more sienna in a rather stiff mix with not too much water.

Stage four

When the high hedge on the left was almost dry, I painted in the tree on the left above it with the same green as the centre tree.

Stage five

When this tree was dry I put in the darker greens, taking care to leave the trunk near the bottom a light green. I also added a little pen work to give leaf shapes. The dark green just mentioned is a mixture of chrome lemon, Prussian blue and Indian red. One can get some very useful varied dark greens with these three colours.

Stage six

Next the centre tree was overpainted with darker green and a touch of burnt sienna on lower foliage and blue-green to the centre area to give depth. The hedges then received a layer of darker yellow-green, giving shape and shadow to them.

Stage seven

The dark distant trees at the end of the road were painted with a bluish mix of raw sienna and ultramarine and India red, the lower part of which was almost pure ultramarine, thus giving distance.

Stage eight

The more distant belt of trees on the right were put in with a similar mix of bluish green.

Stage nine

The road was given a very light wash of burnt umber and when dry the cart tracks were touched in with raw sienna and a drop of cobalt with a touch of burnt umber to the left hand track.

Stage ten

Then shadows on the grass verge were painted in with a bluish-green mixture of Prussian and sienna and on the road itself a warm grey by mixing light red and cobalt blue. Finally various tree branches were drawn in with a small brush and some with a pen using burnt umber and ultramarine mixed.

Top tip

Don’t forget that dead branches without leaves can look very pleasing sticking out from an old tree.

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Exploring the anatomy of trees

Pencil study of an oak tree

Trees are not so difficult to paint as at first appears and some study of them in winter with the leaves off is most rewarding and rather necessary if we are going to become good at the job.

The sketchbook studies of the oak and ash trees, shown above and below, were drawn with a 3B pencil with a chisel point on cartridge paper and using the big carpenter’s flat pencil with a broad chisel point, 6B, to finish off.

Pencil study of an ash tree

How to draw winter trees

It is quite easy to draw a winter tree if you have a method.

The system is to start at ground level and slowly work upwards with the main trunk gradually tapering to smaller main branches. Be sure to make the branches get narrower and narrower as they go up.

Finally a single line finishes the branches off with perhaps some shading to represent a group of branches.

Exactly the same method can apply by using a paint brush with some very slight pencil outline first. Use a fairly stiff mix of paint and put in the final thin branches with a pale mix of colour flicked over the paper with the side of the brush.

Notice the difference characteristics of the two types of tree sketched above. The oak always has branches turning sharply at right angles and the ash has the branches flowing in graceful curves and turning up at the ends on the lower branches.

Having made studies of winter trees you will find your painting of trees in full summer leaf much more convincing, and small pieces of branch will be put in at the right angle and thickness.

There are of course many other types of tree to draw, such as the chestnut and the Scots pine and one can gradually build up a knowledge of trees that will make it much easier when painting a picture with them.

Try and find a tree that is leaning over as they are much more romantic and pleasing than the straight up tree with branches too evenly balanced. One can always exaggerate the lean of the tree if necessary. The great painters often did this especially Corot and Cotman.

Painting trees with buildings

Shotesham Mill, Norfolk. Watercolour 10” x 17”

The painting of Shotesham Mill, Norfolk, above, has trees of various types and sizes in positions which are vital to the composition.

The heavy mass of chestnut trees on the right, running out of the picture, gives a useful counter-balance to the smaller more distant trees on the left.

The small tree immediately to the left of the building is in complete shadow and is painted in silhouette in a dark grey-green using Indian red with the green.

The top of the tree can be seen over the roof of the right hand slope; this is a dark grey-green put on in a fairly dry mix, dragged over the paper, and is very useful in showing up the light grey edge of the wood roof fascia of the building.

The mill itself is built of white weather boarding typical of East Anglia, but the boarding had gone grey with age and lack of painting. Two shades of grey were used mixing cobalt with light red and the lighter grey was washed quickly over the rough white paper to leave little bits of white showing through and giving texture.

The darkest part of the picture is the inner shadow of the lean-to shed which is a mixture of raw sienna, French ultramarine and Indian red – producing a warm very dark grey.

Over the lean-to is a pantile roof painted a light pink, using light red watered down and with a touch of grey; the pantile roof on the jutting out gantry is a stronger pink using the same colour. These pink roofs give the key to the picture which is otherwise mostly greys and greens.

The fairly strong patch of blue sky behind the gantry finally sets of the tone value of the picture. This blue is ultramarine with a little grey to take off the crudeness.

Painting trees in the distant landscape

Snow in the Windrush Valley: view from the author’s studio window. Watercolour 12” x 17½”

Referring now to the illustration Snow in the Windrush Valley, above, we have an example of trees in the foreground, middle distance and distance. This was painted direct from my studio window.

Stage one

A very minimal amount of light pencil guide lines were sketched in first on the white paper which was medium rough.

Stage two

Then the middle distance was painted in with a small No. 3 brush, drawing with the brush as if it were a pencil and then with a slightly larger brush (No. 6) the trees masses were blocked in.

The colour was burnt umber mixed with ultramarine, but varying with darker or lighter tones as necessary. A fairly dry mix was used so that with quick brush strokes the white paper could breathe through to give the feeling of snow. Bits of post and rail fencing here and there were put in very dark with the small brush point.

Stage three

Then the distant trees and hedges were painted, gradually changing the colour to a bluish-brown and finally blue-grey on the horizon using cobalt blue mixed with light red and becoming almost pure blue in places.

Stage four

The sky-line blocks of wood on the left were painted with the brush held sideways which helps to give a rough outline, and this method was also used for the big wood on the right middle distance.

Stage five

Next the sky was washed in with a mixture of cobalt blue, light red and very little raw sienna and plenty of water.

Stage six

After everything was dry, the foreground hedge was painted with a strong stiff mix of Payne’s grey and burnt umber, taking care to leave a jagged snow-line at the bottom of the hedge and using the dragged brush method to allow white to show through tat the top.

Then the two tall trees on the right were painted with a No 5 brush and a mixture of burnt umber and Prussian blue which produced a greenish-brown.

Stage seven

A smaller brush was used for the top branches. Quick upward brush strokes, leaving bits of white paper showing, gave the appearance of snow on the lower trunks and where the branches were against the dark wood it was necessary to use a razor blade or sharp knife and scratch out to indicate snow.

Stage eight

Finally the tops of the trees, where the small branches thicken out, were given some pale washes of cobalt mixed with burnt umber. This is best done with a dryish mixture using the brush sideways again and dragging it quickly downwards which leaves suitable gaps in the colour.

Top tip

Whilst painting this picture one was bearing in mind the composition and perspective. Hedges get smaller as they recede and are lighter in tone to give distance.

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This article was first published in the one hundredth issue of Leisure Painter, June 1979.