Anyone can paint a tree, right? Even a child could probably paint a tree. Most coloring books have trees in them. It’s pretty straightforward—brown trunk, green leaves....if you get fancy, yellow on the leaves where the sun hits them. And if the leaves on the tree are not green, just use whatever color they are. It isn't rocket science.
So on July 11, as a birthday gift for my friend whose birthday is July 15, I started painting a tree.
I don’t like to give paintings as gifts because it assumes the person thinks you are a good artist and it forces them to lie if they don’t like it and they’re in the very awkward position of feeling obligated to hang something on their walls they might not even like. (So that is why I do not like to give paintings away; the reason I do not like to sell paintings is even more complicated, but the result is that I do not like to sell or give away paintings. I realize this limits my options somewhat, so I don't paint much.) But my friend with the upcoming birthday specifically said she liked some paintings I’ve done and it seemed like she was telling the truth. After I talked to her and looked at some pics of things she liked, we settled on Impressionism. No one dislikes Van Gogh and Monet—-their work is almost universally regarded as beautiful, especially the landscapes. So after talking with my friend, I chose to use Van Gogh’s Peach Trees in Bloom as my source material. Van Gogh did several versions, and people on the internet and YouTube did thousands more. My intention was just to use it as a basic guide—-the fence, the yard and the general placement of the tree. But I would mostly just wing it. It’s a tree, how hard can a tree be?
So even though I’ve never painted someone’s skull before their skin, I painted a tree without leaves first. I say “painted” but I basically drew a tree with a paintbrush.
So on July 11, as a birthday gift for my friend whose birthday is July 15, I started painting a tree.
I don’t like to give paintings as gifts because it assumes the person thinks you are a good artist and it forces them to lie if they don’t like it and they’re in the very awkward position of feeling obligated to hang something on their walls they might not even like. (So that is why I do not like to give paintings away; the reason I do not like to sell paintings is even more complicated, but the result is that I do not like to sell or give away paintings. I realize this limits my options somewhat, so I don't paint much.) But my friend with the upcoming birthday specifically said she liked some paintings I’ve done and it seemed like she was telling the truth. After I talked to her and looked at some pics of things she liked, we settled on Impressionism. No one dislikes Van Gogh and Monet—-their work is almost universally regarded as beautiful, especially the landscapes. So after talking with my friend, I chose to use Van Gogh’s Peach Trees in Bloom as my source material. Van Gogh did several versions, and people on the internet and YouTube did thousands more. My intention was just to use it as a basic guide—-the fence, the yard and the general placement of the tree. But I would mostly just wing it. It’s a tree, how hard can a tree be?
So even though I’ve never painted someone’s skull before their skin, I painted a tree without leaves first. I say “painted” but I basically drew a tree with a paintbrush.
I haven't decided how much to make this a "tutorial" but I'm thinking not much. I mean, the brown is brown paint, the green is green paint.... The sky and "clouds" are literally what any child would come up with using white and blue paint. So I'm not going to get into that part of things. But I added some pink "leaves" and honestly thought I was almost finished by the end of day 1.