Product Review

Draw & Paint Realistic Trees in All Four Seaons

Bestselling author and naturalist Claudia Nice is back with another studio essential for every landscape artist. Drawing & Painting Trees in the Landscape features Claudia's best tips and techniques for painting trees of all kinds in their natural settings—from the majesty of mountain evergreens to the delicate pink blossoms of cherry trees in spring.

With her inspiring artistic style and in-depth visual instruction, Claudia starts with the basics, showing you how to break down reference photos and open-air vistas into simple shapes, colors and textures. Follow along as she skillfully guides you through every step of creating vibrant compositions anchored by glorious trees and foliage, including:

• Drawing and sketching techniques for mapping out successful compositions
• A variety of basic tree shapes you can reference and copy; featuring more than 40 conifers, hardwoods and deciduous trees
• Proven color mixes for painting an array of vibrant hues—from the many different greens of foliage to the soft pastels of spring blossoms—using watercolor, oil, acrylics or mixed media
• Step-by-step instructions on drawing and painting important details, such as the weathered textures of bark, the sculptural shapes of bare branches in winter, aged mossy trunks and more
• Techniques for working smart in any medium, such as using simple watercolor washes for distant foliage, adding details with pen & ink, and "knife painting" in oils for interesting dimensional effects

Whether your goal is to make accurate field sketches for your journal, paint what you see on your travels through the countryside, or just capture familiar views of your own back yard, Claudia makes the process fun, easy and satisfying. Like a walk in the woods, with every step you'll relax, enjoy and learn something new.