Green!

Greens in the landscape are so utterly lovely, especially in the spring. Because of their dominance in most landscapes and the variation in each hue amazingly complex, these lovely colors can be a very real challenge for the painter. Because so many of my students have expressed their frustration with green, I developed a workshop to address the problem.

First we mixed greens from blues, yellows and black:

Then we altered tube greens:

Then they matched greens in leaves. This sketchbook is from a workshop I taught in Tuscany. I had some painters who were just beginning and this was a nice way to begin.

Next I demonstrated the use of greens in trees. The example was from the same trip as the image above.

Finally, if time permits, we use the information in a landscape. This one was done on location at Rancho Los Alamitos, California.

The only way I know to figure something out is to go from the simple to the complex. The first step can be tedious if you don't pay attention to what you are doing and these charts can become valuable on location, especially for the grayed greens.

I LOVE painting trees so this workshop is a delight to teach!