How to Mix Greens in a Tree Canvas Painting

A tree canvas painting can add a natural flair to any landscape. It can also be a great exercise in understanding tones and values. Mixing greens can be a bit of an Achilles heel for landscape artists, but using a variety of ‘non-green’ colors and techniques can help you achieve some surprisingly subtle shades.

Whether they’re in a field or in the foreground, trees are essential to any landscape painting. They offer a variety of shapes, forms, and textures, as well as a chance to experiment with perspective. They also provide a solid focal point for the painting. Trees viewed from far away will look much more solid and have a defined shape than those in close-up. For example, a grove of pines from the ground will have very different shapes and textures than a single spruce or oak lit by the sun.

To make your trees really stand out from the background, start with the darkest greens first. Using the very tip of your #8 flat brush (working dry), dab some dark green over SOME of the black you’ve already laid down on your canvas. Pick a side of the tree where you want the light to be coming from and apply more green to that side than the other.

Next, grab a lighter shade of green and apply it to the branches of your tree in the same way, but more sparingly. Finally, add the yellow-greens, applying them with more and more restraint as you go. You’ll be amazed at the difference this simple technique makes in making your paintings really shine.