Trees are a common watercolor subject. They can be the focal point of a painting, part of the background, or in the foreground, framing your scene. For each of these situations, there is an ideal way to treat the subject.

You'll want to use a different colors, apply different edges, and include more or less detail depending on where your tree is in your watercolor scene.  

Making these decisions can be complicated, and that's why I've chosen this topic for this week's blog: how to paint trees in watercolor.

Learn to Paint Watercolor Trees

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Painting Trees to Create Depth and Focus

Trees give you the opportunity to enhance your watercolor's depth and to highlight the area of your painting you want highlighted.

For example, say you're working with a reference photo like this:

The line of trees in the background is an essential part of the watercolor scene, as is the tree closer to the viewer. And it can be tempting to render them both with the same amount of detail.

Let's talk about how we want to handle the tree line in the background, opposed to the one that is closer to the viewer - and why it's important to create a connected shape with the foliage. 

I chose to minimize and simplify those background trees in order to keep the main focus of the painting in the middle ground. If both parts of this watercolor landscape were painted with the same level of detail and contrast, this scene would be overworked and unfocused. The main idea of the painting would be unclear, and a viewer would lose interest quickly. 

Here are some watercolor strategies I used to paint this scene:

• I muted the green that is further away. When you cool the background down just a little bit, it provides a more depth to your watercolor. You don't want the green of the tree line in the background to be as vibrant as the trees that are closer up, or else you risk having them appear too close together. So as you get further away in your background, use a more muted green hue.
• I created softer edges in the background and painted some harder edges as I moved forward in the painting. It can be tempting to take the hard edges that you see in the photo - the visible branches, for example - and include them in your painting. But if the main idea of your painting is the light on the boat and on the water near the more prominent tree, this is where the details should be. If the same amount of detail is rendered in both parts of the painting, they will compete with one other. The viewer won't know where to focus.
• I painted a mere impression of trees in the background, whereas in the front I added more detail, light, and shadow to the trees.  Beginner watercolor artists have a tendency to want to overwork areas of the painting that actually benefit from less detail. Notice that in my painting, my brush strokes in the background really just give the impression of trees, which is exactly what I want. I want them to give the viewer the sense of distance and keep the attention on the focal point of my painting. 
• I connected the tree to its shadow. Another mistake I see often in student work is a disconnected shadow. When you're painting trees, buildings, cars, or figures, make sure to consider the shadow when painting that large, connected shape. In real life, shadows are attached, so make sure this is consistent in your watercolor scenes.

Learn to Mix Watercolors to Paint Trees

Color mixing can feel overwhelming, especially as a beginning watercolor artist. And Mixing greens can be especially tricky.

In the video on this page, I show my palette as I mix each green in this painting. Here is the breakdown of the way I create the different greens for this scene:

For the trees in the background, I created a dull/muted green by mixing:

• Cobalt Turquoise
• Lavender
• Raw Sienna 

For the shadows on the trees in the background, I added:

• Neutral Tint
• Raw Umber

For the closer tree, I mixed a thicker pool of paint using:

• Raw Sienna
• Cadmium Yellow Medium
• Cobalt Turquoise

And for the shadow side of the tree I added:

• Neutral Tint
• Cobalt Turquoise 

Related Blogs

 3 Watercolor Rules to Help You Focus on Your Main Idea

Composition in Watercolor Painting - 3 Tips to Create Captivating Art

Real-time Watercolor Landscape Tutorial