Author: Pierre Labeau, Contributing Editor

That Elliot fellow has the nerve to call the great Pierre "pompous"! Folks, that's a serious sign of "paint-envy". However, his latest lesson on charcoal drawing wasn't too bad, so I've made myself a promise not to call him too many names in this, the latest installment of my world-famous, super-duper, steroid-induced QuikTips! But what would a QuikTip be without a reach into Pierre's mailbag?! Dear Pierre, For us beginners, it would be great if you would break down a couple of the trees and do a step by step demo. My trees tend to look like blob with no shape or form. I don't know about anyone else, but I would certainly appreciate it. I really like your articles, and am disappointed if I can't find a new one every few days. I know, I know, you can't stay on the computer all the time. This is a great site. Thanks for all your work! Diana No problem, Diana! (and thanks for the many kudos!) Here's a little lesson on the anatomy of a tree. When I have some time (in between my tanning appointments, autograph sessions, and vacations), I'll whip up a more detailed lesson on painting a tree. Hope this helps for now! Keep those emails a comin', folks! Pierre (pierre@wetcanvas.com)

There are so many different kinds of trees and so many different ways to paint them! Here is an example of one method you might wish to employ. The major mistake I tend to see as people paint trees is not in the way they paint them but in the way they THINK of them. When most of us began to paint we were taught that it was important to be sure that the tree caught light on the side of the light source and that the opposite side of the tree would be a bit darker. For some reason a lot of beginning artists concern themselves with just those two things. However, reason tells us that a tree has FOUR sides, not just two! And in order to effectively paint a tree we must be able to depict all four sides!

Here we begin to lay in our initial color scheme. All we are doing here is basing in color. However, we must THINK of all four sides of the tree and use our logic. Logically, the area of the tree that protrudes out into the light will be of the lightest values. Conversely, those away from the light will receive less luminosity and will be somewhat darker. The side of the tree that is away from the viewer, in other words the "back side" of the tree will be quite dark since in order to see that side we must look "through" the tree! The side nearest us (the viewer) will be some where between dark and light. This is logical. Paint all four sides!

Now work on your tree with the four sides in mind. The next thing is to choose a brush that suites your needs! I know that you have been told to always use the largest brush possible for the task you are attempting. While this is an old art adage and will, in fact, make your work appear more "loose", it is another rule that is meant to be broken! Use a brush that will give you a "leaf" look and always DAB the leaves in. Think of each dab as a separate leaf and keep you tree light and airy. Think of each dab and ask yourself this question; "Does this leaf reside on the front (nearest the viewer), light side (side nearest the light), back side (side away from the viewer), or the darker side (side away from the light source)? Add some tree trunk up into your tree and paint in some sky blotches to allow the sky to show through thereby making the tree appear airy. I do hope this helps. Remember, much depends upon how we THINK of subjects. Trees have FOUR sides. Learn to paint all four and your trees will take on a wonderful dynamic!