Tree roots 2 -watercolour paintings and a charcoal study

 

During my painting vacation I wanted to focus on the structures made by tree roots, visible on well-travelled sand paths. For this I made several reference pictures and this scene is the second we picked to work from. The reference pictures were chosen by our teacher and coach, Ad van Aart, together with me. Compared to the first one, this reference picture offered more and different challenges for me as an artist.

After I had made the charcoal study

the composition of the watercolour painting was decided. In this case I had to fill the whole sheet of watercolour paper with the composition of the drawing, not leaving extra white areas.

For the painting I worked on dry paper, leaving the lines of the roots untouched. The mosses and grasses were painted and the shadows on the forest floor were painted using darker mixes than the sunlit spots on the top left.

After these first layers were painted, the shadows on the tree roots were painted and after that was decided that it was a good idea to indicate the structures of the roots as well.

A second painting was to be made, with a more 'dramatic' atmosphere than the first one.

To make a painting look more dramatic, a monochromatic painting always works good. For this one I decided to use Indigo, because of the possibility to work from very light to really dark. Again I worked on dry paper, leaving the structures of the roots untouched. The shadows of the roots on the forest floor were painted and the shadows on the roots themselves, where they crossed, were also indicated.

This painting is much more abstract than the other ones I had made this week. One of the other painters liked it so much that the painting was sold.

The information about the materials I have used for the watercolour paintings and the charcoal study, their sizes and availabilities can all be found in my Tumblr blog.