paint or sketch trees: challenge

Close up of tree bark, Marqueyssac, France. photo: Vivien Blackburn

Another challenge

Rather than another update on the seascapes I've decided to run another challenge in response to feedback from the trees post.

Feedback from people said they got a lot out of the skies challenge and I'm sure you will out of this one :>)


click the image on the left to link to the original post on trees

and you can check all posts with the tag 'trees' here


The challenge is to produce sketches of trees done from life.

• These can be: close ups, extreme close ups, whole tree, part of tree, distant views - whatever you want.
  
  
• Style: anything goes - photorealism to impressionism but with underlying observation
  
  
• Medium: your choice, anything goes :>) oil paints, acrylics, watercolours, mixed media, charcoal, graphite, coloured pencils, pen, oil pastels, pastels, pastel pencils ....... etc etc etc
  
  
• Timescale: we'll finish at the end of July and I'll post links to your blogs then - please leave your links in the comments as with the skies challenge

To think about

• The character of trees - they are so individual, consider the way it grows, the dynamic way the branches reach for the sky, the way winds may have shaped it or it clings to rocks or hillside
  
  
• Look at the texture of the bark, smooth, rough, flaking, damaged, patterned
  
  
• The colours - which are rarely simply brown - look for the greys and greens and in some cases ambers, blue greys, off whites and more
  
  
• Close ups as well as views of whole trees - look at the bark
  
  
• Look at the pattern of branches and the negative spaces
  
  
• Remember that branches come towards you as well as sideways
  
  
• Look at where it joins the ground - roots showing ?? base buried in tall grasses?? look how it melts into its surroundings without a line beneath it

Anyone up for this? Let me know? I'd really like to get lots of people joining in with lots of different images and ways of looking at the subject.