Event

Painting Trunks and Branches

With Claire Haik

Saturday, November 8, 2025
10am–4pm
Adult Workshops
Adult Fall 2025

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Painting Trunks and Branches
A Beginners Approach
w/Claire Haik
Saturday, November 8
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
This one-day workshop will concentrate on painting one of the most beautiful and challenging aspects of a tree: its trunk and branches. Trunks are rarely perfectly round; instead, their surfaces present a combination of flat planes and rounded forms that interlock together and describe the tree’s surface. The pattern of its branches, roots and rippling bark tell each tree’s life story and are influenced by interaction with other trees, the sun, and the earth.
Our goal in this class is to simplify the tree’s structure and capture its essence as effectively as possible. We will describe tree trunks using intentional brush marks and explore how small adjustments in color and value will bend branches into the foreground and background. The class will include lots of one on one instruction and a lecture exploring how both historical and contemporary painters approach tree construction.
Rather than aiming for finished paintings, we will create several small studies focusing on the topography of different trunks and how we can communicate them using paint. This workshop is great for landscape painters who want to delve deeper into capturing the majesty of trees by focusing on their structure. Some painting experience would be helpful. Demonstrations will be conducted in oil paint, but students are welcome to work in any medium they prefer.
MATERIALS LIST
Paint:
I often use the colors below, but they are not required. Feel free to bring any selection of colors you feel comfortable working with.
Titanium White (Opaque White)
Cadmium Yellow Light (Cool Yellow)
Cadmium Yellow Deep (Cool Yellow)
Yellow Ocher (Earth Yellow)
Ultramarine Blue (Warm Blue)
Cerulean Blue (Cool Blue)
Prussian Blue (Transparent Blue, Optional)
Ivory or Mars Black (Earth Blue, Optional)
Cadmium Red Medium (Warm Red)
Alizarin Crimson (Cool Red)
Burnt Sienna (Transparent Earth Red)
Brushes
Selection of Flats, Rounds, and Filberts in different Sizes (long handle brushes are preferable)
Palette Knife
Canvas or Support
We will be making at least four small paintings in this class. An 18×24 canvas or canvas paper would work perfectly. Then you could divide the surface into four smaller canvases using masking tape.
Source Material
Printed Photographs of Trees (the teacher will also provide some)