Blogmas Day 2: Winter Twigs and Trees

The leaves have mostly fallen from the trees, and it’s a good opportunity to draw twigs, if–like me–you struggle with foliage. As with any observational drawing, the process helps identify and appreciate the obvious and more subtle differences in nature, and the calm light of winter is a good time to paint. Here are some of my studies done in gouache on Khadi or watercolour paper:

I’m wondering if I should try painting some more landscapes now that more leaves have fallen. I need to get the hang of the shape of trees as I struggle to make them look real, and while I’m hardly a stickler for accuracy, it frustrates me that they end up looking cartoonish or just a mess. I will spend a bit of time experimenting and see what I come up with.

Have the trees lost all their leaves where you are?