What is really required is getting rid of inhibitions about slapping paint on the canvas with a fan brush. I did the following painting in a matter of minutes.  The entire process of painting a tree is one of impressionism. There is a little brush control methods and a few simple pointers regarding wet and dry application of green and yellow.

This first painting is the finished product. Notice the brushes used especially the fan brush.

1. Sketch a tree

   Place a primed 16 X 20 canvas horizontal on an easel. Draw a square in the upper left corner the size of a plastic CD case. I just placed a case on the canvas and drew around it. Leave a good two inch border from the top and left side. You will eventually use other squares to redo this little painting. There should be enough space on the canvas for 5 more small squares. Do not waste one large canvas for this exercise. It is not necessary. With the other 5 squares you will get plenty of practice in doing this little painting.

   

2. Using Burnt Umber paint the trunk on the left side and branches. Now it is just fine if the paint bleeds. Notice how the paint thins out in the branches and is lighter. Just slap it in there!

   

3. Now add some white directly onto the tree. Just dip the small brush in white and paint the trunk and branches along the side that does not have dark burnt umber. Drag some of the dark umber into the white.

   

4. This is just an example of clean up. I put to much paint on the brush so I had to wipe some off with a Qtip (left top branches).

   

5. Using a fan brush dip into some GREEN paint. Do this lightly on the brush, just the tips of the hairs. Now pat across the branches.  Keep the brush as vertical as possible and tap (not stroke) on the paint.  If held at too steep and angle the leaves will develop a fuzz like quality.

   

6. Using the fan brush dip into some YELLOW paint. Do this lightly on the brush, just the tips of the hairs. Now pat across the branches and directly over some of the Green.

   

7. Using the fan brush dip into some White paint. Do this lightly on the brush, just the tips of the hairs. Now pat across the branches and directly over some of the Green and the Yellow. Do this sparingly. You just want some highlights. Don’t apply as much as you did the Green and Yellow.

   

8. Add some green to the bottom around the tree using the fan brush.

   

9. Add some Yellow to the bottom around the tree using the fan brush. Notice the 2 sprigs. Paint those Green

   

10. Add white highlight along the trunk and branches and some yellow to the sprigs. THAT’S IT! YOU HAVE A TREE! The rest is really working slowly to develop a crisp picture. This requires a few layers of paint and therefore some waiting time is needed. The objective of this whole lesson was simply to get you to let go of the control of the brush and just learn to slap paint around until you get the desired result. Experiment with highlights using white and also play with the dark edges of the branches. Don’t fret too much over the leaves. They sort of take care of themselves. You will find that by adding yellow over wet green and then let it set up for a few hours that the yellow will bleed into the green giving it a more natural quality.

    

This painting is rough and it is your job to practice until you can get a tree to look finished as in the painting ‘Gypsy Fire’. This really requires practice and a willingness to experiment with the wetness and color of the paint. The tree trunks use a lot of bleeding technique especially with white over burnt umber.

Gypsy Fire