Tree roots - for a contest

 

After seeing the new colours launched in the Revival Collection I wanted to have at least three or four of them so I bought them.

A few months later the contest was announced and I wanted to join as soon as I saw the criteria. This is my second entry.

For this painting I have used only two colours and a reference picture I made over a year ago - but was not used yet.

Two years ago I used the time of my painting vacation to gain confidence and a bit of experience in painting these tree roots that show up above the sand paths in our nature and I have used the same method I used then.

So first a charcoal study - in this case two studies - to get the composition right.

I was not happy with the first study so I made a second one that looked better. This charcoal drawing was close by when I made the watercolour painting as my reference for the composition, the contrasts and the smaller shapes between the tree roots.

Of course the final painting is not an exact copy of the study but I never expected that to happen. Charcoal is not the finest material for drawing (no sharp points for more than one stroke) and I do have some nice small brushes for the finer paintwork - which I used of course.

The painting is submitted for the contest.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of the painting and both studies, their availability and my contact information in case you are interested in my original artworks can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Quarry with tree roots

 

On our first evening in Sonnenberg (Leiwen, Germany) we made a walk as we had been in the car for hours and wanted some fresh air. 

That walk was very close to our vacation home and we passed by some nice views over the Moselle valley. We also had nice spots on the other side of the path and this is one of them.

On several places there are little quarries that have been washed out a bit further by the rains so the tree roots are visible. This was an inspiring one, the shadows create interesting shapes here so I made a reference piture.

Looking at the picture again I decided to make a drawing using my Tinted Charcoal Pencils on a tinted paper.

The bit of forest ground above the quarry is important to show where the tree roots come from and is is mostly in shadows so the contrast with the sunlit parts of the wall of the quarry gives more structure to the landscape. Without that part, the drawing would have been much more 'abstract' and that is not what I wanted.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and in case you are interested in my original works my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

The base, beech tree - another work, another technique

 

Another work using the tree roots of the beech tree we saw near Vaals (Netherlands) last October. As I did not know when I would have the time to make this work (we planned some nice things to do) I made a blog post with the first two works and decided to wait with the third work until later.

This work is also based on the charcoal drawing I made first so the reference picture was not used for the graphite drawing.

For this drawing I have used some colours of the Tailor shaped water soluble graphite that I discovered earlier this year. The shape of these graphite 'sticks' works nice and as it is water soluble only water and soap are needed to get my fingers clean.

I used two shades of brown, only the light shade is washed with some water. White is used for the sunlit parts of the tree roots.

All information about the materials I have used, the size of the drawing and its availability can be found in my Tumblr blog. If you are interested in my original artworks, please do contact me.

The base, beech tree

 

A few months ago, during our short vacation in Vaals (Netherlands) we made some signposted walks. I have already posted paintings of the views over the hills but of course I have also made reference pictures of trees and tree roots.

This beautiful beech tree had some nice exposed roots, the sunlight caused some highlights and shadows so I had to make a watercolour painting of it.

For the painting I have used only two colours - and not the most obvious ones - for an experiment in 'does this give my painting the atmosphere I want it to have?' and the result pleases me.

Before I made the painting I first made a charcoal drawing

This drawing was used as reference for the painting, just like I did during my latest painting vacation in August. 

And again, the atmosphere of a charcoal drawing is very different from a painting, even with a very limited palette. Still, the results are what I hoped for.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of both the watercolour painting and the charcoal drawing and their availabilities can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Tree roots 3 - a watercolour painting and a study

 

The last result of my painting vacation. This scene proved to be very challenging to make a good charcoal study, the charcoal is not as subtle as the watercolour.

Our teacher and coach Ad van Aart encouraged me to use the reference picture for this watercolour, a very grey looking scene with sand, some tree roots and just a few other elements in it. The roots had the same shade of grey as the sand, this was a very open path, too well-travelled for any mosses to grow or dead leaves to stay in place. Only the tree roots in the foreground showed some brown. 

For the reference picture I kneeled down as low as possible (I had to get up again without embarassing either myself or my husband who was with me on that walk) so the shadows of the roots on the ground were very strong.

The composition is mostly decided by the darkness of the shadows.

For the watercolour painting I painted the background first and after that had dried I started to paint the lines of the tree roots, using as little paint as possible. The dark shadows were painted as dark as possible. Some of the gathered bits of wood on the right side of the large root and some large shadow areas (clouds or other trees) were painted and after that the composition was perfected with more shadows and more areas that might contain smaller branches.

The study was helpful for the placement of these areas, but I did not copy it exactly

As you can see, the charcoal study is much darker than the watercolour painting, giving more contrast in the lines, which was not what I wanted for the painting.

The painting is even better than I hoped for, thanks to the helpful comments of Ad van Aart.

The information about the materials I have used for the watercolour painting and the charcoal study can all be found in my Tumblr blog. There you can also find information about the sizes and availabilities.

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.

Tree roots 1 - Watercolour and charcoal study

 

For this painting vacation I planned to make watercolour paintings inspired by the patterns of tree roots in the paths we take when walking in the forests. We always use signposted walks, so the paths are very well travelled. Several reference pictures were made during our last walk in 'De Soesterduinen'.

Our teacher and coach Ad van Aart helped me to select the reference pictures I was to work from this week and this one is the first. They get more difficult after this one, although tis also was a nice challenge.

After I made the charcoal study

we decided that the composition was good, so the watercolour painting had to be placed on the paper in the same proportions. The initial sketch on the watercolour paper took some time, but painting was relatively easy. During the painting process we decided on adding the shadows of the roots and some more patches of green, to complement the green moss in the top left corner. In this way the painting is not really abstract, but the result works very well.

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

Tree stump - pencil drawing

 

Last weekend we (my husband and me) were walking a signposted walk in the Soester Duinen (Netherlands) and at one side of the path was this tree stump. The tree had been sawn off long time ago and the moving sand had left holes under the remains of the tree trunk and the root system but what was left still looked great. So I made some reference pictures and later that day I made this drawing.

For the drawing I planned to use several shades of brown, but while I was working I changed my mind. Sometimes less is more and a drawing in only one (neutral) colour can result in a stronger image than the use of many colours ever will. 

So here it is, a monochromatic drawing of the remains of a tree.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Tree roots - a charcoal drawing

 

The days of my painting vacation were not completely filled with my watercolour paintings, in the afternoons I occasionally had a few hours for something different. Of course I wanted to stay close to my chosen subject (the forest) so one afternoon our teacher and coach Ad van Aart  asked me to make a drawing of the complex roots of a large oak tree that was on the terrain of our residence.

With this drawing I had to fill the whole page as good as possible and create a work that was as close to abstract as the subject could get me. I did make a drawing as accurately as possible, filling the page with the roots of the tree and only the roots. So no little branches, no grasses in the background and even not the little mouse that came looking what I was doing in front of its home.

Making this drawing was nice, I could sit on a small chair in the shadows of the tree - it was a very hot day - and concentrate on what I did see and what I wanted to draw without having to worry about drying paint, colour choices and other difficulties. The result is even better than what I thought I could make, so I am very happy that Ad challenged me to do this.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.