From the Artist: This painting was inspired by a friend of mine who is a mural artist, by profession... I decided to paint a landscape in which a nicely shaped tree was the focal point.
Then lo' and behold Painting.About.com coincidently issued the project for April using the same criteria!
I used a reference photo of a pine tree in a field, but turned my tree into a sugar maple instead. My goal was: to create as much depth to the field without leaving the background open (which is too easy), thereby making this a more powerful painting, and to create enough dimension to the tree to make one believe one could climb it providing they were able to get into the painting somehow. LOL!
From the Painting Guide: A happy coincidence indeed! I think trees can be a bit like clouds... once you start looking you can see all sorts of things in the shapes of the leaves, branches, and shadows! The next challenge, I guess, is going to have to be to intentionally paint faces in a tree. I think you've created a great sense of depth, both within the tree itself and in the landscape overall.
Things to Consider When Looking at this Painting:
• Composition: I really like the way the horizontal lines in the foreground run, with some parallel to the edge of the canvas and others not. This makes for a very dynamic foreground that pulls the viewer's eye across, and adds to the sense of depth in the painting.
• Shadows: Notice the shadows within the tree itself, created by the branches and leaves and falling on other branches and leaves. Beginners often make the mistake of only painting the shadow on the ground and the edge of the tree trunk.
• Kissing Edges: The very top of the tree only just goes off the edge of the canvas, with the leaves 'kissing' the edge. Use a piece of paper to mask off a bit of the top of the painting so more of the tree goes off the top, and imagine how it would look with more blue sky above it; now compare the three and decide which works best. I think it's fine as it is because the blue of the sky goes down into the tree, but 'kissing' is something that must be done deliberately, not accidentally because you 'ran out' of canvas.
I used a reference photo of a pine tree in a field, but turned my tree into a sugar maple instead. My goal was: to create as much depth to the field without leaving the background open (which is too easy), thereby making this a more powerful painting, and to create enough dimension to the tree to make one believe one could climb it providing they were able to get into the painting somehow. LOL!
From the Painting Guide: A happy coincidence indeed! I think trees can be a bit like clouds... once you start looking you can see all sorts of things in the shapes of the leaves, branches, and shadows! The next challenge, I guess, is going to have to be to intentionally paint faces in a tree. I think you've created a great sense of depth, both within the tree itself and in the landscape overall.
Things to Consider When Looking at this Painting:
• Composition: I really like the way the horizontal lines in the foreground run, with some parallel to the edge of the canvas and others not. This makes for a very dynamic foreground that pulls the viewer's eye across, and adds to the sense of depth in the painting.
• Shadows: Notice the shadows within the tree itself, created by the branches and leaves and falling on other branches and leaves. Beginners often make the mistake of only painting the shadow on the ground and the edge of the tree trunk.
• Kissing Edges: The very top of the tree only just goes off the edge of the canvas, with the leaves 'kissing' the edge. Use a piece of paper to mask off a bit of the top of the painting so more of the tree goes off the top, and imagine how it would look with more blue sky above it; now compare the three and decide which works best. I think it's fine as it is because the blue of the sky goes down into the tree, but 'kissing' is something that must be done deliberately, not accidentally because you 'ran out' of canvas.