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Start Art 8 34 www.painters-online.co.uk Terry Harrison shows how to paint trees in watercolour in all seasons to create lovely landscape compositions full of personality A s an artist, painting landscapes would always be my first choice. I love to paint the big outdoors in all seasons as the opportunities are endless, but there is one factor that stops many beginners in their tracks, and that is painting trees. If you want to paint landscapes the chances are you will have to paint a tree at some stage. If that’s not bad enough, there is also the issue of the effect of the time of year on your subject matter: a tree in winter will not look like a tree in summer; it might be the same tree but at a different time of year it offers a new challenge. Trees come in all shapes and sizes, but you don’t have to be an expert on trees and woodlands or know the names and species of trees to be able to paint them. There are a few tips that might help you master the art of painting trees successfully.To share these with you, I have chosen to paint the same view, but in the four different seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. In fact I often choose to return to the same location at different times of the year, because if the subject or view looks good in winter, then the chances are, it will also look good in a different season. Trees in four seasons in watercolour You will need… l Brushes: Large detail brush (No 12 round); medium detail brush (No 6 round); half rigger; foliage brush ( 1 ⁄ 2 inch natural soft-haired flat); fan stippler (natural soft-haired fan) see above. l Colours: cadmium yellow; cadmium red; burnt umber; burnt sienna; raw sienna; ultramarine; cobalt blue; sunlit green; country olive; midnight green; shadow; bluebell. See right. If your paints have different names, providing they look similar to these, use the colours you have. Other items l Bockingford 140lb watercolour paper l 2B pencil