It’s been a joy seeing what paintings have come from August’s tall trees photo, and hearing from people how one painting has sparked another. There’s a reason artists such as Monet and Van Gogh painted series! Scroll down and enjoy!
By Mark: Acrylic paint and some black (and white) acrylic ink.
From Marion: I like the use of white space for the sky, gives it a Chinese painting feel. Delighted to have you sharing to a project gallery for the first time!By Gail: “My rendition of the August project, which I enjoyed very much. Acrylic on paper with a little ink drawing.”
From Marion: I like the depth and distance created by the strong darks in the trees and the light blue mysteriousness that lies beyond the trunks.By B: ” Not very happy with this the ink got a bit out of control. The red is little red riding hood among those big scary trees, can you find the wolf?”By B: “Second attempt, largely water colour, quite a bit of negative painting and no little red riding hood. I think this was more successful.”
From Marion: I agree that this is more successful. There’s a lot going on for the eye to wander around, unpicking the trunks and branches, shapes and patterns, with breathing space. White space for a change of pace and a visual pause/rest. The calm forest after the wolf has left…By Eddie: ” I have done a lot of these because trees are definitely my thing. Most, as Marion pointed out, were very brown and green. She suggested I do two more with no brown or brown mixes and no tube green, one using bright colours and the other muted. I found this difficult but very rewarding. I started both with the same or very similar under painting, then added thicker paint. This, in case you can’t guess, is the bright version.”
From Marion: Full of colour that reveals itself the more you look but still strongly rooted in realism. I’m hard pushed to choose a favourite between the two.By Eddie: ” This is the more muted version.”
From Marion: In midwinter there’s a lot of purple in the stands of trees along the road to Inverness; this feels like those. By Eddie: “Inspired by the “no-brown “ trees I decided to add bolder colour to a brown pastel version which improved it no end.”
From Marion: It feels like late afternoon sun hitting the trunks in autumn. By Claire: ” Here is my quick first attempt. In watercolour, acrylic ink and a touch of pastel, wet in wet . Il’m not happy with it as the colours ended up dull ad overall it looks dark and brooding.”
From Marion: Nothing wrong with dark and brooding, though it’s frustrating to end up there when you’re not aiming for it By Cathi: “Ink and watercolour, with ink wet on wet, waiting for it to dry then adding the bright green leaves with ink coloured with watercolour. I have found a lovely pearlised white ink which readily accepts watercolour.”
From Marion: The splash of yellow-green feels like the tailend of autumn where a sheltered tree has managed to hold onto its leaves. For me it has the perfect balance between abstract and realism, interesting mark making that pulls me in and rewards close looking, with subtle colour to add to the intrigue. Imagine in real life with the pearlised white ink it’s even more so. By Cathi: “Using watercolour on my canvas paper giving a much softer effect.”
From Marion: Such a different feel, gentle overcast morning light.By Cathi: ” Monochrome ink on Khadi paper. I love the effects with this combination and want to try other ideas using them. The ‘over-drawing’ at the end was probably a mistake but I’m still experimenting!”By Sarah: “My second go, haven’t finished it yet, but the month has come to and end so here it is. Thoroughly enjoyed working with the orange background.”
From Marion: I like the orange, it adds a warmth and autymnal feel, as well as giving the fun when painting of interacting with other colours. I think this is looking good, and hope you will continue with it.By Erika: “Forest Whisper in D-flat Minor “. I found this to be a tough one — so many options, so many trials — a small piece in the puzzle of learning more about art and myself and the eternal search for happiness in the results.
From Marion: My favourite section is the blues on the left, the light between trees, with the suggestion of pine branches or leaves in the lines above, which could also be a record of the movement a conductor’s baton during a performance.By Erika: I’m much happier with this painting “Owling at the Moon”. Collage with tissue paper and golden wrapping of chocolates….it took many wrappings to find the right one!
From Marion: For me the tissue paper creates a beautiful sense of silver birch trees on a full moon night,
By Gail: Enjoyed this one too. It is done in acrylic and ink. I liked the challenge of the dark sky and the sunlit houses.
From Marion: Absolutely feels like a Scottish beach with the sun playing against the clouds rolling in.By Claire: ” I have taken liberties with Findhorn beach (I didn’t want to put lots of grass in the picture and I wanted to open up the beach) but I hope it still works! My perspective is a little wobbly but I decided it was better to leave it! Translating pencil to paint in small areas proved difficult.
From Marion: I like the contrast between the strong graphic diagonals of the rocks, sand and sea against the softer diagonals billowing clouds. It creates depth, pulls my eye up and in, with different visual rewards in each section.
My three tree paintings on canvas, 20x50cm
My thanks to everyone who’s shared their paintings for us all to enjoy and learn from. You’ll find a list of all the projects here. It’s never to late to do any of these, and if you email me a photo of your painting it will join whatever the next photo gallery is.
And, finally, a reminder that if you become a project subscriber, you can get feedback from me on your painting either by email or in the project community, plus access to exclusive project-related content.
