Fall Foliage In Groups

You are more likely to see fall foliage as a canopy of leaves from a group of trees.  When groups of trees are together, like in a forest, the individual canopies merge into a larger group. Branches and leaves overlap creating a single large canopy. Still there is a sense of form and space created by patterns of light, shade and shadow.  

Showing that form and space is what this lesson is all about. 

Watercolor Painting Lesson

This could easily have been a shorter lesson about only those things to know about painting the canopy of trees. That is the focus and much of the lesson is spent working on our tree line with fall foliage.  But, enough additional elements and considerations were added to make this a complete landscape painting project as well.  

We work our way through, step-by-step so you’ll get practice on other elements of the landscape as well – sky, trees, grass and a couple more. 

Notes On The Drawing Layout

The drawing layout has heavy lines to make it easy to see and copy onto your watercolor paper. It is best not to draw the lines too heavy on your paper, especially in the sky, since there is a good chance the lines will show through the paint. It’s not a deal-breaker, but those heavy pencil lines are sometimes a distraction.

What you’ll need

• Brushes – FLATS! – 1 1/2″, 1 or 3/4″, 1/4″ Flats, Medium round, Small Round, Rigger
• Colors – Perm. Alizarin Crimson, Raw Sienna, DaVinci Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue , DaVinci Cobalt Blue,  Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow – you can also use Cadmium Orange if you have it. 
• Watercolor paper – preferably Arches 140lb Cold Press cut to about 7″ x 11″ or so

 Get ready, turn on the video and let’s jump in!