Do you want to bring more life and depth into your watercolor trees? As Mimosa. H often demonstrates, focusing on light direction can completely transform the way your trees look on paper.
In this tutorial, Mimosa. H will show you how to paint a pine tree using just four colors—an easy, effective approach that creates realistic depth without needing a large palette.
Ready to see how sunlight can change everything in your painting? Let’s get started!
Contents
Setting the Scene: Imagining the Sunlight
Before the artist starts painting, they always take a moment to think about the light. It changes everything in a watercolor painting.
Light brings life to the artwork. It helps reveal shape, form, and depth. By thinking carefully about where the light is coming from, the artist can make the tree feel real and full of dimension.
For this pine tree painting, the artist imagines the sunlight coming from the top left corner. That means the top left of the tree will catch the light first.
Everything else will follow based on that light direction. Once this is clear, the artist knows where to place the highlights and shadows. This one small step makes a big difference.
Choosing the Artist’s Palette: The Four Essential Colors
Painters don’t need a huge set of paints to make something beautiful. Keeping it simple works best.
Why Only Four Colors?
Limiting the palette makes things easier. It helps the reader focus on values, shapes, and light—not just color.
For this tutorial, the artist uses only four colors, more than enough to bring the pine tree to life.
The Four Colors the Artist Will Need
Here’s what the artist uses:
- Yellow Green: for the fresh, bright areas of the tree
- Mid Green: for the parts touched by softer light
- Dark Green: for the shaded areas
- Vandyke Brown: for the trunk
Each color has a specific role. From capturing brightness to adding deep shadows, these four shades are all that’s needed to paint a beautiful pine tree.
Step-by-Step Guide to Painting the Pine Tree
With the light direction set and the colors chosen, it’s time to begin painting.
Shaping the Tree with Yellow Green
The artist starts with the lightest and brightest color—yellow-green—to shape the pine tree. This creates a fresh and lively look.
Since the light comes from the top left, this color is placed directly on the areas where the sunlight hits first. These strokes give the tree its initial sense of life.
Adding Depth with Mid-Tone Green
Now let’s give the tree some structure and softness. Next, the artist uses the mid-tone green. This goes on in areas where the light is present but not as strong.
It still looks green, but it feels calmer than the yellow-green. These parts are slightly more shaded and add that in-between feeling, neither too bright nor too dark.
Applying mid-tone green helps transition between light and shadow smoothly. It also builds a bit more depth into the pine tree.
Creating Shadows with Dark Green
Here’s the fun part: adding those bold, shadowy areas. Now it’s time to use the dark green. The artist applies this to the tree parts on the opposite side of the light source.
Since the sun is coming from the top left, the bottom right side of the tree will be more shaded.
Don’t worry if it feels dark; that’s what we want! The shadow creates contrast. And that contrast makes the tree feel three-dimensional and more realistic.
It pops when the artist balances light and dark just right. After adding dark green, the artist uses an eraser to remove any excess strokes.
Painting the Trunk with Brown
Now that the leaves are done, let’s focus on the trunk. The artist paints the tree trunk using brown. Like the rest of the tree, the artist also thinks about where the light comes from.
So a little shadow is added on the side of the trunk opposite the light. That means more shading on the bottom right side of the trunk.
This small detail adds so much depth. Just like with the leaves, light and shadow on the trunk help bring the whole tree together and make it feel solid and lifelike.
Bringing the Painting to Life: The Power of Light and Shadow
This is where everything comes together. Understanding how to place shadows and highlights is the secret to depth.
Throughout the painting, the artist keeps asking: Where is the light falling? Wherever it doesn’t fall, that’s where the shadows go.
This idea helps guide the brush and decide where to put each color. The result is a painting that feels alive and full of form.
The artist reviews the whole painting as the work finishes to ensure the shadows and highlights are balanced. Sometimes a bit more shadow is added or some edges are softened.
These small final touches help tie everything together. It’s all about light and shadow: where it falls, where it hides, and how it helps the tree feel three-dimensional.
In A Nutshell
Isn’t it amazing what just four colors and smart lighting can do? With a bit of planning and a focus on where the sunlight hits, watercolor pine trees can truly come to life.
So next time the artist paints, think light first, then let the colors follow. Want to try this method with other trees? Stay tuned for more watercolor tutorials, and let’s keep growing those skills together!