Handmade Greetings Cards,Watercolour Paintings,Woodcraft,Watercolour Tips No2

Tree Trunk

Materials used: No. 6 Round Brush, No. 2 Rigger, Bockingford 140 lb. Tinted Eggshell (300g) Watercolour Paper.
Paints: Ultramarine, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow Pale

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Prepare the paint:
1 - a watery mix of raw sienna with a little ultramarine added.
2 - a darker, thicker mix of ultramarine and burnt sienna.
3 - a darker, thicker mix of ultramarine and cadmium yellow pale

Work flat or at a slight angle.

Use the no. 6 brush and the watery mix of raw sienna with a little Ultramarine to paint the shape of the tree trunk. Don't let it dry, go straight to stage 2

While the trunk shape is still wet, drop in the colours from mixes 2 and 3 into each side of the trunk and the bottom of the roots and allow the paint to find it's own way into the trunk. (Just touch the loaded brush into the wet areas and let the paint flow out of the brush on its own) Don't poke about in the paint or you will get mud. Provided the paint is applied wet enough and left alone once on the paper, the granulating qualities of the ultramarine will produce interesting textures in the trunk.

Again while the area is still wet, use the ultramarine/burnt sienna mix to add the side shoot branch using a rigger brush.

Let the whole area dry.

Paint in the knot and cracks using the ultramarine and burnt sienna mix.

Method for knot:

Paint 'blobs' as shown in 1 (any dark mix)
While wet, use damp brush to soften lower edges.

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