Painting Leafy Trees as Background Elements

In the majority of landscapes, the trees will be of secondary importance to the focal area. Simplify them to render them with more believability. Our glancing eye does not see trees as individual leaves, but as wonderful masses of color and shape - each variety of tree with its own unique quality.

First visualize the trees as masses of light, dark and middle tones. In oil or pastel, I like to lay in the dark masses first as underpainting, then the middle tones and finally the lightest, most vibrant areas - without overdoing the highlights. Often the masses will appear as abstracted shapes. Evaluate them to see if they add or detract from your composition.

Simplify. Lay in those masses without regard to individual leaves, and skimp - if necessary - on prominent branches that may lead the eye off the canvas. Remember! The focal point of your painting must retain its importance, so if you overdetail your trees, which are simply background elements in this particular painting, you will instead see them competing with your focal area.

Where the leafy masses meet the sky they will appear a touch lighter - the effect of more air and light. In warmer light, the shadowed areas of your trees will appear as a cooler color. In cooler light, those same shadowed areas will have a warmer feel. If your trees are to be treated as simply spatial elements or filler for your painting, don't make these areas of light and shadow too strongly contrasting. Save the areas of extreme contrast and intensity for your focal area, even if you must dull the trees a bit to achieve this.

Pay attention when painting trees with light trunks such as aspen or birch - don't use stark white. The viewer's eye will immediately be drawn to that area, and it will look garish, not realistic. Often, you must tone down the bark color of these varieties.

Again, simplify.

 

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