Beginning Watercolor 2/13/20, E Pluribus Unum

Building a tree by painting all the individual leaves is definitely the hard way to tell the story. With a couple of organic green shapes on the top of a dark vertical stroke you've got a tree. The part we forget is that there is a sympathetic, eager and intelligent audience awaiting the opportunity to meet us halfway. Show them the simple version and rest assured they will know what it is.

                                                                  Andrew Wyeth


Here, as usual, Andrew Wyeth Was thinking in terms of "shape first, then texture, if necessary." The stand of conifers is a solid dark shape. Along the profile edge there is a little bit of texture, just enough to suggest that the entire dark shape is made of that same detail. We, the viewer, will gladly do the job of "seeing" all the needles in the middle of the shape, even though Wyeth didn't paint any.

Below are a couple of images that respond well to seeing in layers. They also benefit from looking for ways to combine shapes to simplify the scene. Give one a try.