Foggy Forest
Painting trees can be a rewarding addition to a landscape painting. Acrylic paints are a fast drying medium so each layer of paint does not take all day to dry. It is quick to add color and depth to your trees with light and shadows. Most trees can be painted with a few colors and brushes. Remember that each tree is an individual and brings character to any landscape.
Conifers
Pine and fir trees are created by using a fan brush. Dip a fan brush into a needle color. Dab a branch of needles at the bottom of the tree by smashing the color into the canvas. Work your way from the bottom of the tree to the top. As you go towards the top of the tree, the branches will be shorter. At the top of the tree, the branches are reaching for the sunlight. This means that the branches will be pointing upwards. Switch to a pointed paint brush. Look for the gaps in the foliage and picture where the tree trunk and branches will be showing. Paint short glimpses of the trunk and branches with a dark color. Mix a little white with the dark color and highlight the side of the trunk where the light source is hitting it.
Leafy Trees
In order to paint leafy trees, you first need to focus on the season in your painting. Spring and summer mean that your trees are dressed in a variety of green. Autumn scenes call for the playing with reds, oranges and golds. Once the colors are chosen, start with a round brush. Dip the brush in the trunk color. Start at the bottom of the tree and use an upward stroke. Twist the brush a bit as you paint so the trunk of the tree ends on a point. Add a few branches by starting at the trunk and following the branch to the tip. Change to a flat brush and dip it in a leaf color. Use short dabs to place the color onto the canvas to create groups of leaves. Leaves that are closer to you will be a lighter color than the leaves farther away. Let the acrylic paint dry between dramatic color changes.
Winter Trees
In the winter the leafy trees lose their leaves and the coniferous trees are covered with snow. For leafless trees create an intricate weaving of small branches in a color a little darker than you would use for the other seasons. With a fine tip brush, paint white on the upper edges of the branches. This is the snow that has fallen and clung to the branches. Do not paint the snow onto the undersides of the branches since this does not occur in nature. For conifers, paint the trees as normal then put a layer of white on the top of the branches to mimic the snow.
