what is the technique to painting trees,bushes etc.

[Dizon]

I find those complex and hard to paint mainly because I see alot of leaves, branches sticking out. How do I simplify the shapes and colors ??? I'm using watercolors FYI.

Thanks for the help!

[LUMEi]

VALUE above color. color as they say is just the icing on the cake. you should just practice value first like with black and white. a trick in painting is squinting ur eyes til they are almost closed and everything's a blur. that way you see no detail and just shapes. notice whether what you're seeing is mostly in shadow or mostly in light.

note the light source. Forget what you are painting. you are not painting the tree. you are painting the light. pretend you've never seen a tree before.

Use a big fat brush and limit your brush strokes. and apply your knowledge of geometric shapes. try to think of the tree as a big mass. take a tree trunk...that's a cylindrical form. or a bush can take on a spherical form. and some trees look like cones tapering at the top. think of it as one big shape rather than a million small ones.

[Dizon]

Thanks! That's great advice! ;)