This fall some of my students painted this landscape filled with beautiful autumn colors and birch trees. These were painted in watercolor but you could try other mediums. So if you would like to try this yourself the steps are below. Have fun!
First, we draw the tree line towards the top of the paper, going across from one side to the other.
Then a line underneath that one that shows where a field would meet the trees in the background.
The next step is to use masking tape to block out areas of the paper for the birch trees. The masking tape can also anchor the paper.
Next we painted from the bottom to the top starting with yellow, then adding red all the way to the top of the tree line. Blue can be added while the red is still wet, blending to make a purple. Then the sky in blue at the top is painted and clouds added. I have shown several more steps in this painting, starting from the left. The masking tape has been peeled off of the trees after the paint has dried. In the middle 2 trees washes are added to the trees, showing the wonderful texture found on birch trees. Then finally darker details are added on the right 2 trees with mixes of blue and red.
In the final version more details are added with foliage in the background and foreground.
