This week i want to paint a texture, one in particular : a pine tree trunk.
Pine trees have a very textured trunk and this texure is very specific to the tree. So if you want to paint this beautiful tree, better get this texture right ! With a bit of observation and study you’ll be able to see that this texture is not so difficult to do. For this image a wanted the trunk to be the star of the show so i took the same reference picture as the one of two weeks ago but zoomed in. But i also want some context to the trunk so i keep a bit of pine needle and thivy growing up the trunk.
With watercolor, you can totally spend hours of work and get a very detailed and realistic painting. But you can also take another way, by using some tools to make the work easier and sacrificed some realism for expressiveness. Of course i took this way ! So with a bit of plastic wrap, here you have a very expressive bark of a pine tree and it almost painted itself !
Painting a trunk in video
Supplies :
Brushes : Escoda Último nº18, Rosemary & Co serie 39 1/2″.
Paper : Arches hot pressed.
Colors : Nickel azo yellow (Daniel Smith), Aussie red gold (Daniel Smith), Burnt sienna (Daniel Smith), Lavander (Daniel Smith), Indigo (Aquadrop Schmincke).
And here you have the finished painting (click to enlarge) :
One Response
I really enjoyed your approach to painting the pine tree bark! The use of plastic wrap for texture is a clever technique that adds a unique expressive quality to the watercolor. It’s fascinating how you balance realism with creativity. The details you provide about your materials are helpful for anyone wanting to replicate the look, especially the brush recommendations. I’m curious, though—how do you approach the subtle differences in bark textures between different tree species? Do you have a method for distinguishing these textures in your paintings?