Muir Woods Redwoods in the light

Welcome to my latest painting update. Today, I want to talk about how we can paint the sun when it shines through deep woods. A fellow painter recently asked me how to make a forest scene look bright without it becoming messy. It is a common problem because trees have so many leaves and dark spaces. The secret is to focus on where the light hits the ground and the tree trunks.

When I started this painting of the big redwood trees, I knew the bright patch of light on the forest floor had to be the main feature. The sun was positioned far over to the right side of the view. Because of this, the light sweeps across the ground and moves right up the main tree trunk. This bright area creates a wonderful contrast with the deep shadows around it.

To get this effect, I left the paper completely white for the brightest parts of the ground. Leaving the white paper is the best way to show strong sunlight in watercolour. For the main trunk, I used dry brush strokes. This means having very little water on the brush so the hairs skip over the paper. It is an excellent trick for showing the rough texture of the tree bark.

For my colours, I wanted a mix of rich darks and fresh greens. I used ultramarine blue mixed with burnt umber to create the deep, dark shadows on the right. For the leaves, I used bright spring green and viridian green. A touch of yellow ochre and burnt sienna helped to warm up the forest floor. I also used a tiny bit of white paint at the end to add some final sharp highlights on the small branches.