Few things get me to work like a deadline. Our local watercolor societies annual "spring exhibition" is fast approaching. This piece was started just about a week before the deadline. 
I went for a hike in Sedona, looking specifically for a tree that I remembered from a few years ago. It was on the "Soldier's Pass" trail, so I called my good friend, and avid photographer Brent Jones, and we went out in search of my tree. I recall on my earlier visit, my tour guide friend told the tale of how this was one of the trees that were the inspiration for the evil apple trees in "the Wizard of Oz".

Well, for some reason, as cool and interesting as it is, it just didn't inspire me for my painting, so we continued on, looking for "It".

The Soldier's Pass trail is a big loop, and towards the end, I finally found THE TREE!

This was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. I had taken pictures of about a dozen different trees up to this point, but I had the feeling that this was my subject. Unfortunately, the sun was now below the mountains, and I was left with a flat light. Since I had a very limited time to complete this piece, I decided against coming back another day, as this was Sunday, and it's back to work for me on Monday morning.

So, to start this project, I first decide what sort of technique to use for the best results, as "there is more than 1 way to skin a cat". I really enjoyed working with Jeanne Hyland's wet on wet style, and I thought I would capture her technique and pass it along as best I could.

I started by drawing my image onto a 16" X 20" piece of Arches 140 lb. cold press with a Derwent Imperial Purple watercolor pencil.

The paper is laid on a sheet of Masonite, then corrugated plastic, upon that, a wet shammy cloth .This will insure that the piece remains wet during the entire process.
Saturate the paper on both sides until it will no longer absorb water, this will take several coats, over 1/2 hour or so.

Now it's time to add some color, I start with Daniel Smith quinacridone gold, and sienna. Really splashing it on.

Then I throw in some quin purple in the shadows. Next, I wipe off excess color that has bled out of the edges using a paper towel.

Next I begin bringing in the values with a very thick "Lukas" Van Dyke brown, using a #10 round brush. 

As the paper goes from soggy to damp, it becomes much more workable, so I get more details, using the Van Dyke brown, and neutral tint.

I begin using a damp 1/4 flat shader to lift some color out, creating highlights.

All the time adding details, such as branches, bark texture and such. Once I have my image nailed, I grab a stipple brush and pounce in the needles, and some background foliage using verde green, sap green, Van Dyke brown, and permanent blue.

I go back in once again to the bark, toning down the warmth of the exterior areas, and to deepen some shadows, giving a little more depth and dimension to it, using neutral tint and quin purple.

Well, that's it! I am still waiting to find out if this piece makes it into the show. It should be a good one, as we have some incredibly talented people in our group, and we're bringing in Robbie Laird as our juror. You can see some of her work here www.robbielaird.com


Thanks for reading, and as always, I welcome comments, and feel free to submit any work that you'd like! And keep PAINTING!
Art