I love complex lighting situations, and this scene is probably as close to my original photographic series of folk tale landscapes as I can get with my cirrent sketching technique. In this scene I was -again- attracted by how the light fell through the trees, and in this case the scene almost appears graphic – very little colors, a lot of lines from branches and shadows. This was the first time for me attempting to paint a backlighting situation like this, with the sunlight creating a lens-flare effect through the trees.
I feel like I did a better job on the branches in the drawing stage, I probably should have used a different brush for the branches, but it was a great study of light and shadow. Obviously, for the folk tale background of this sketch, I imagine there lies something in these shadows that comes alive when you cross its path.
It’s also interesting to take a closer look at the different colors that snow can appear to have when you paint it – a lot of blues and purples, but also brown shades. This was another really fun landscape sketch with an unusual lighting situation that I felt rather unprepared for – it was helpful to do a small color test before I painted the bigger sketch. This is a technique I can really recommend, it helps so much working through the composition and colors before you start, it always makes me feel much more confident about my sketching plans.
I hope you’ll enjoy the video:
Folk Tale Landscapes – Trees in the winter sun (#8) (video)
A bit of background info: In this series, I’m looking for landscapes that could be the background for local legends and folk tales. I’m not looking to illustrate any of the stories themselves, I’m just interested in the mood and atmosphere behind these stories and I’m looking for ways to transport this in a landscape sketch.
For more info about this painting series (and about my background), read on here and here. I started researching and creating these paintings in 2020 and the project still continuing as I’m exploring new interesting places. Current restrictions have slowed the process a bit, but I like the thought of having an ongoing project in the back of my mind.
Beautiful – the backlighting is really effective – the sunlight coming through the trees evokes a magical sense of atmosphere.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your process. I like your interpretation of trees. They are so difficult to draw indeed!
Thank you Marie! Yes, trees are a subject of practice and more practice for me, too.
Thank you for sharing your process. I love how you painted the glow of sunlight in the sky and on the trees. Beautiful.
Thank you Trudy!
This is a wonderful tutorial ……I love your comments about the distant trees. I need to look into different types of brushes. Bravo……the end result looks great
Nice work with light and shadow.
Gorgeous! Loved it!