Week 3 Summer & Autumn Trees
- Mar 20
- 4 min read
Summer & Autumn Trees: Layering, Texture & Light
As we move into painting fuller, more expressive trees, this week is all about learning how to create depth, texture, and light in a simple and approachable way. Summer and autumn trees give us the perfect opportunity to explore richer color, fuller canopies, and a little more movement in our brushwork.
In this lesson, we focus on three key techniques: layering for depth, dry brushing for texture, and adding shadows to ground our trees. Each one builds on the last, helping your trees feel more natural, dimensional, and alive.
Technique 1: Layering for Depth (Using Value)
Layering is one of the most important watercolor skills, and it’s how we create depth without overcomplicating our painting.
We begin with a light first layer—this is your softest value and sets the overall shape of your tree. It should feel very light and watery, almost like a gentle base for everything else to sit on.
Once that layer is completely dry, we move into a second layer with a mid-tone value. This is where we begin to add shape and interest—suggesting clusters of leaves and giving the tree more form. Try not to cover everything from the first layer; letting those lighter areas show through is what creates dimension.
Finally, we add a third layer with the darkest value. This is used sparingly, just to deepen shadows, define areas, and give the tree a sense of fullness and depth. A little goes a long way here.
✨ Think of layering as slowly building your tree—light first, then medium, then dark.
Technique 2: Dry Brushing for Texture
Dry brushing is a beautiful way to add texture and a slightly rough, organic feel—perfect for bark, ground, and grasses.
Horizontal Dry Brush (Using a Round Brush)
For this technique, hold your brush more horizontally and use a round brush with a fuller belly.
Load your brush with paint, then gently remove some of the moisture so it’s not dripping wet—you want it fairly dry. As you lightly drag the brush across the paper, it will catch on the tooth of the paper, creating a broken, textured effect.
The larger the brush, the easier it is to achieve this texture. Smaller brushes tend to hold less paint and can make this effect a bit trickier.
Vertical Dry Brush (Great for Grasses)
For this variation, a square or flat brush works really well.
Start by loading your brush lightly, then roll it on your palette to spread the bristles out a bit. This helps create those natural, uneven marks.
Using very little water, lightly brush in upward or varied directions to mimic grasses or ground texture. This technique takes a bit of practice, as the balance of water and paint matters—your brush should feel quite dry, and you may need to experiment a little to get the effect you like.
✨ This is a playful technique—let it be imperfect and exploratory.
Technique 3: Adding Shadows
Shadows are what help your tree feel like it belongs in a space rather than floating on the page.
To begin, choose a light source. This tells you where your shadow will fall:
If the light is coming from one side, the shadow falls on the opposite side
If the light is overhead (like midday), the shadow sits more directly underneath
When painting the shadow, think of it as a soft reflection of your tree on the ground. The base of the shadow—right near the trunk—will be slightly darker, and it will gradually fade as it moves outward.
Keep your shadows soft and light, using a bit more water so they blend gently into the paper.
✨ A shadow doesn’t need to be perfect—just a soft suggestion is enough to ground your tree.
Bringing It All Together
In class, we brought these techniques together in a small landscape painting. We began by laying in a soft wash for the sky, then gently lifted some of that color with a paper towel where the tree canopy would go. This helps preserve the brightness of the leaves so the sky color doesn’t dull them later on.
While the paper was still wet, we added in distant mountains and hills, allowing everything to blend softly using a wet-on-wet approach. Once that first layer dried, we moved on to painting the tree canopy, building it slowly using our layering technique—starting light and gradually adding depth with mid and darker values.
After we felt happy with the fullness of the tree, we finished by adding soft shadows in the foreground to ground everything and bring the scene together.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t a perfect step-by-step recipe. Watercolor is fluid and a little unpredictable, and every painting will need something slightly different. You might add more layers, fewer layers, or adjust as you go—and that’s part of the process. The more you practice, the more you’ll start to feel when a painting is finished. Trust yourself, stay curious, and let the process guide you. 🌿🎨
Sketches for week 4
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