Quick Tip 386 - Expressing Trees in Snow

A subscriber was having difficulty in getting his tree limbs to look realistic. Artist/art teacher Dianne Mize explains what to look for and how to make it happen.
www.diannemize.com
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[@wendyneilson8422]

Really appreciate your teaching in all the quick tips Dianne. U are so knowledgeable and thorough that even as a advanced painter I have learned specifics that I didn’t actually know but was doing intuitively. Valuable. Good solid base. Thx again!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You are so welcome, Wendy. Thanks for watching.

[@alicianaive2620]

Thank you Dianne! You made this easy to understand! Thank you for always going the extra mile & for creating magical art experiences no matter what ever the topic is! We all appreciate you! Teachers don't just teach, they prepare us for the road ahead! You are an amazing teacher & I'm so grateful to have you in my life! Thank you🌹

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Thanks for that, Alicia! You made my day!

[@pamelabritton1230]

I just painted over a big stretched canvas painting that I hated and was about to do a snow scene just for fun when I saw this Quick Tip. There are numerous trees in it, so talk about timely! Even though I use acrylics, I can adapt. Time to practice! Thank you, Dianne!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Pamela, have fun with it!

[@halallen55]

This reminds me of a question I had! We had a lot of freezing rain a few winters ago. The mountains and trees were beautiful with the sun shining on them as they were covered in ice. I never figured out how to show ice covered trees gleaming in the sunlight. I had a blue bird that landed in the yard up close to me on small ice-covered crab apple tree. I snapped a picture, but to this day I cannot convey on canvas what I saw. PS. We are close to being neighbors Hayesville NC possibly you saw it too, thank you for all you do, Hal

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Hal, take a look at Quick Tip 375, a similar scene as yours, also in our area. Good to hear from someone in our area.

[@halallen55]

@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thanks Dianne, I actually have this quick tip saved in my computer and have looked intensely at it. I see this picture as snow on trees though rather than iced over trees from an ice-storm, but it is a good starting point for sure, you got me thinking perhaps I should start by painting an ice cycle and work from there, Hal

[@Doppy34]

Thanks Dianne, best way I saw for painting wintertrees. Very happy I saw this.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Give it a try and have fun with it.

[@joanistotler8804]

Thanks, Dianne, appreciate the reminder of how to have more organic tree trunks - love your jurky trunks, and also the hint about the scrubby brush - I have one just like it!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure, Joani. Give those jerky trunks a try.

[@debbiekey5255]

Thanks, Dianne! Very helpful as usual!

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You're so welcome!

[@joannelamb9908]

Thank you. Very helpful once again. jo

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Glad to hear it!

[@margaretbutters6181]

great lesson thankyou

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

You bet!

[@rezahosseinzadehnasser993]

Thanks a lot. Very useful tip. Although your hand was covering the brush and could not see the brush struck movement clearly but I could guess how you used the brush.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Sorry for that. Sometimes I can't gauge what the camera is seeing.

[@sharonsunshine2532]

Thanks 👍

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

My pleasure.

[@marieroslind1479]

Dear Dianne, How can you keep all your colors moist? I have noticed that you have a good part of each color on your palette, and they allways looks good and new. Do you use Oilcolors? Thank you for all your work🌺

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Marie, I explain all that in Quick Tips 172 and 115. Yes, in the majority of the Tips, I'm suing oils.

[@shoatboat]

Great tip for tree trunks, but I often run into trouble where the limbs taper and splay out into smaller and smaller branches but before they become twigs, where your texture technique would be useful. I have begun to show just a few branches to give the feel of diminishing branch size, but it still looks unnatural and artificial compared to the real bare limbs.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Jim, unless a limb has been snipped off, there is always a gradual taper. Most painter tend to taper too quickly. Also, look at the slant at to what angle it is slanting, and then compare the length of it with the length of other limbs. That will help you get the foreshortening of limbs coming towards you.

[@chayita7]

Hi, Dianne. I see I'm the first one to comment. Can't wait to try out this quick tip's many techniques you have demonstrated for us! About the filbert: is there another way to wet it if I am sensitive to solvents? On an unrelated but 'brushy' subject: I've been wondering about the background you are painting on with the thin round brush in your Quick Tips general introduction. You seem to be painting in leaves as a second layer? On what kind of background? It looks interesting. Thanks again and again, Carol

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Carol, I don't use solvent in my paints, only to rinse my brushes. I don't use medium in my paints either except in rare instances where when using a rigger, the paint has to be a bit looser, OR if I need an area to dry quicker, in which case I add a bit of Liquin. About your second question, if you are referring to the little intro clip prior to the quick tip, that is watercolor. The area I am painting into is already dry.

[@Splatterpunk_OldNewYork]

Trees, the boogeyman of painters.

[@IntheStudioArtInstruction]

Not really! Not when you see them like a painter rather than like a writer.