This is the first of a series of online free tutorials that feature everything I know about landscape painting. I've been writing these type of articles for Watercolor Magazine, so now I'm offering similar "lessons" online, but now I have the option of illustrating my points in any media I wish - no longer "has to be" watermedia.

I'm also sending this lesson through my email newsletter, so if you're interested in receiving these tutorials directly into your email box, then sign up for my email newsletter on this site.

Variety Enhances Visual Interest

Trees should not be too uniform , and even if the tree you're painting is fairly lolly-pop shaped or uniform, it's your job as the artist in control to design a more interesting tree or stand of trees. You can do this first by making each tree in the stand a bit different in some way than the one next to it.

Variety of Color:
Unless you are a completely tonal painter, changing the color of each tree (subtle changes) helps distinguish one tree from those surrounding it. Here are some examples:


Tree Study - at Little Long Pond by Lori Woodward. Watercolor on paper


This is a segment of a painting by Hugh Bolton Jones. Notice the variations in color from deep blue green to yellow green - sometimes within the same tree. If the source of sunlight happens to be warm, where it hits the tree foliage, the color will appear warmer - more yellow. When light is warm, the shadows are cooler in temperature - here they are bluer. The darkest darks always look richer if they are a warm or red brown, but I'll discuss that in a future tutorial.

The second thing I'd like to point out about this painting example is that one can see sky holes easily in trees that are closer, while with distant trees, only the largest sky holes can be seen.

Third: the leaves at the tops of trees should not have hard edges. It's best if they look like they are delicate and able to flutter in the breeze. Things that move are soft in our vision, so making them look like concrete just won't do.



Kennedy Brook watercolor on paper by Lori Woodward.

Here, I varied the color of clusters of leaves (slightly) for interest.


A painting by Ivan Shiskin - master painter of the past.

No lesson on painting trees is complete without an example from Russian painter of the past, Ivan Shiskin. Notice the variety of shapes of foliage clusters and variety of color.


In this watercolor by Alfred Thompson Bricher, he didn't vary the color much, but did distinguish one tree from the next by a variety in values and shapes of the outer branches.

It's difficult to paint or draw anything irregularly, but Nature is irregular . If it were any more so, it would enter in a chaotic state. I've found value in practicing sketching tree shapes and branches so that I don't make them like paper dolls - all the same shape and length with equal negative spaces in between. Just like athletes need to teach their muscles to memorize movement in order to build skill. Working in our sketchbooks so that we don't draw what we don't mean to, is often necessary.

Next tutorial: Making trees irregular. I'll later do a lesson on sky holes. There's a ton of features on trees to cover, so I expect that it'll take an entire series of online lessons to adequately cover the essentials of drawing and painting trees.

Study of a pine by Lori Woodward. Acrylic on canvas. Here is an example of a tree with lots of sky holes and irregularly shaped branch clusters.

Hope you've enjoyed this and have gained a bit of insight from it. If you have specific questions, you may leave them in the form of comments on this blog. I'll try to answer as I get time.
Sincerely,
Lori

As many of you might be aware, I've had the privilege of studying over the years with some of best artist/teachers in the country. This summer, I'm working hard on an instructional book (which I've mentioned in previous posts here).

Free Online Tutorials in My Email Newsletter

I've decided to use my email newsletter (on this site) to distribute short, but free tutorials whenever I get some time. This process will give you a taste of my teaching style and the type of information that I have to offer. In case  you haven't signed up for my email newsletter, you may do so on this site, but if you do - please make sure these newsletters are not going into your spam folder. When I send these out, about 1/3rd of them are never opened.

My next free newsletter will describe how color is defined by the light in the atmosphere in the landscape.

Eventually, I'll design longer complete lessons that will be downloadible for a fee - because I do need to pay the bills, but I am set on giving you the best content out there for your money. These will be complete online lessons with thorough step by step painting demonstrations to illustrate every concept I talk about.

Article in Summer 2010 Issue of Watercolor Magazine

Next time you're in a larger bookstore, take a look at page 88 of the summer Issue of Watercolor Magazine - where I teach through a step by step demonstration of Otter Point (shown below). I also explain what I learned from copying a masterpiece by William Trost Richards.

Below of some of the paintings which have been produced for articles in Watercolor Magazine. My lessons for both my email newsletter (the free ones) and the downloadable (pay) will consist of new paintings with newly written descriptions. I do occasionally teach real life workshops in person. Go to my workshops page here for more info.

New opportunities continually arise for artists. I've come to the conclusion that designing an overly detailed business plan in this business is a waste of time since things change constantly. If  you're especially good at the artwork you create, opportunities increase as folks who have the power to put your art in the right places take notice and get in touch with you.

Over the course of the last month or two, I've been working on a few new projects. My focus during the next year or so (if things don't change significantly) is to work on an instructional book on landscape painting. This commitment will certainly demand most of my time, but I've wanted to do this type of thing for years, and if I don't start now, it's unlikely to ever come to fruition.

There are a few other irons in the fire, but I can't mention them yet. If they become a reality, you can be sure I will make an announcement. I just am staying quiet for the time being because I don't want to act presumptuously.

Finally, I'm scheduled to teach a workshop on Landscape Painting at Acadia Workshop Center on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The location is one of my favorites - Acadia National Park. Here is an painting of Otter Point. A step by step demonstration of this painting will be featured in the Summer Issue of Watercolor Magazine (2010). Look for it on bookshelves in June.

"No client should represent more than 40% of your business. If that’s the case now, build some diversity, fast. No matter how much that client adores and relies on you, clients can disappear instantly, for all kinds of reasons you have no control over. Don’t let them take your business down when that happens." Sonia Simone

I was reading this quote from my email newsletter from Copy Blogger this afternoon, and you know what? It applies to artists. If you only do one show or have one gallery, and something happens to that venue, you're sunk. The ideal for artists who work with galleries is to have 3... at least in my opinion. If one isn't selling well, perhaps the others are, and if some of your paintings are just sitting in one gallery - month after month, why not switch them out to another gallery.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Being able to pick up paintings that haven't sold should be in your gallery contract. I also don't like the fact that some galleries want exclusive representation. That's putting all of your eggs in their basket. Remember, they are your eggs. All the gallery is - is a vendor who makes money when they do a good sales job. In fact, now that I think of it, they are not really a vendor either, because they insist on working with a consignment situation. Vendors buy your goods wholesale and resell them at a markup.

Legally, you own a work of art no matter what gallery it's sitting in until someone buys it. The gallery has no ownership over the painting whatsoever. If they lose the painting or can't account for it, they owe you.

Keep Good Records Of All Your Finished Works

That brings me to another good practice. Whenever  you give a gallery paintings, list each one with details and even a thumbnail picture of it on YOUR consignment sheet.

Make two copies and have the gallery owner sign both copies and you sign it as well. These should be hard copies. The gallery keeps one, and so do you. That way when paintings are lost or sold, you have a record of what you gave them.

Not all gallery owners are great record keepers, so it's up to us artists to keep our own records. I know... many of us right-brained types are not good at keeping records, but take the extra time to make these consignment sheets - it'll pay off in the end. If  you can't be organized enough to keep track of what you have at each gallery (on paper) hire someone to help you, and write it off as a business expense.

Even if you're not working with galleries, it's a good idea to photograph and keep records of each painting you complete - keep track of where it is at all times. It takes a bit of extra effort to do this, but you'll be glad you did.

Just a short blog today....
Portrait of Linda - current Issue (Spring '10) of Watercolor Magazine by Lori Woodward.

The last couple of weeks, I've been getting dozens of emails with requests to look at artists' websites, give them critiques, and answer their technical questions. So far, I've been answering.

However, in order to get my work done, I need to make a new policy. I won't be answering many individual questions or critiquing artists' work as their request. Just this week, I've received several dozen requests, and although I enjoy helping other artists, I'm beginning to burn out.

I write for several art publications, and so if you have a suggestion for a blog or article that might answer your question as well, please suggest away! I can't promise I'll answer on the spot, but it's nice to know what questions are out there.

Today and most of next week, I'll be in my studio working on an article for the summer issue of Watercolor Magazine - it'll be on painting rock formations. My blog on Fine Art Views normally goes out on Wednesdays. I do try to answer questions about art marketing on that forum, so if you want to be active there, please sign up at: http://fineartviews.com

I'm not the only writer there - and it's one of the best place online where you can learn to market your work. It's free.

I hope you understand why I can no longer meet the needs of everyone on an individual basis.

Sincerely,
Lori

My two main mentors these days are Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik, and... that's good news for you.

Nancy Guzik painting me from life

This past weekend, Richard counseled me on whether I should publish my own instructional books or go with a known company such as North Light Books. He said that since I don't have a ton of money to invest in self-publishing that I could go with North Light and it wouldn't cost me a dime. Sure, I wouldn't make much, but I'd get a lot of free press.

The really exciting thing is that Richard said I could start my lessons with, "Richard and I were discussing... Color... and this is what I learned". In other words, he's giving me outright permission to teach things I have learned from him. He's such a generous guy! 

I've also learned a ton from Nancy Guzik over the years, and I truly adore her paintings. She'll be teaching at American Artists' Weekend With the Masters 2010 in Laguna Beach. I"m so excited for her - this will be her teaching debut.

I've got to run off to Dennis Sheehan's workshop today - he's having a St. Patty's celebration with his 15 or so students. He invited some of us Putney Painters to join him, and his studio is close to my house. I'm planning on asking him if I can rent his studio to conduct a couple of workshops of my own: one on art marketing, and one on watermedia landscapes.

Painting in progress - by Richard Schmid:

Something Richard said this past weekend, really caught my attention. As we sat around the table eating lunch (which is Richard's monologue time), he explained that what subject we paint doesn't really matter because all we really can paint is "light". Without light, we can't see anything, and so we paint the way light falls on an object, and the reflected shadows within. The color is determined by the temperature of the light, and the local color of the object.

Here's a flower that Richard began painting on Saturday. The light source was cool light - making the shadows warm. He usually intensifies the saturation of the color in the shadows - why? Because he can!

I just finished up with a series of blogs on pricing art for Fine Art Views. I had also written a blog post on the Artist Daily blog about pricing artwork, and that post was, by far - the most popular I've written there. Clint Watson also confirmed that my posts on pricing had the most comments of my FAVs blogs.

So... what I'm hearing from you all is that you would like more information about art marketing, how to run the business, do the bookkeeping, get into galleries, sell on your own, etc. I'd love to share what I've learned over the years with you all.

But in order to make my blogs - and resulting ebook- remarkable, I'll need lots of feedback and suggestions from you... my fellow artists. I've been collecting questions from you for several months, but again, I'd love it if you would post your questions here by commenting on this blog. Don't feel that any question is too simple or silly.

I won't answer them all here, but will consider each when planning further writing. If  you're not signed up for Fine Art View's email newsletter, you probably should. That's where I'll be posting my answers for the most part. And if  you'd like to sign up for my email newsletter on this website, go to the appropriate button and add your info.

My email newsletter will include lessons and tidbits about painting/drawing that I've learned from my mentors: Jack Beal, Sondra Freckelton, Richard Schmid, and Nancy Guzik... plus a few other lesser known mentors. In order to share my info this year, I won't be painting as often - except for instructional articles in Watercolor Magazine. It seems my true passion is for writing and sharing what I've learned along the way... my secondary passion is for painting. (I love my hubby too) ;-) Had to include him so he wouldn't feel left out.

So please ask, ask, ask... selling artwork, painting techniques and principles, time management and organization for right brained people.

I look forward to future conversations.
Lori

This morning I had a wonderful time with several artists from the Tucson area. They meet for breakfast every week. It was great to connect real people to some of those little icon photos that I've been conversing with online.

While it was a great time, I - once again - feel like I talked too much, and didn't do enough listening. When we get together next time, I'll make an effort to listen more and take interest in what others are doing. If I'm not careful, I'll even cross the line into gossip - although some don't consider what I say gossip, it feels that way to me.
Outer Sabino 9x12 oil

Looks like we'll be meeting for a very early walk in Sabino Canyon next week. This is one of my favorite places on earth. I'll include a couple of photos here. There's a year round stream, stone bridges that were built in the 1930's, 3 vegetation zones with giant deciduous trees near the stream - then saguarhos on the hillsides and then it's topped off with beautiful cliffs. If one is not up to walking the canyon, there is a tram that takes visitors from one end to the other.

Walking trail outer Sabino: photograph by Lori Woodward

View from my window

I'm looking forward to my time in Tucson - away from the the dark days and chills of New Hampshire. Don't get me wrong,  I love New England, but just not in the wintertime. Perhaps someday, my dream will come true and my husband and I can be snowbirds.

While there, I expect to work furiously on my ebook - on art marketing and living the professional artist life.
Also... need to get the bulk of the next article done for Watercolor Magazine... which will be on painting rocks. I can find plenty of those in the desert, but will include scenes from Acadia National Park.

But this year, as is every year, my main goal is take daily walks in the desert, visit Saguaro National Park and Sabino Canyon - visit with friends, and eat healthy food.

I won't have internet access in my room - probably a good thing, but will check in online once daily. If you'd like to see where I stay, you can visit the link here. Hacienda Del Desierto.

See ya in March!
Lori