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Are you considering painting palm trees in watercolor?
Great idea!
Here are 7 helpful tips to make the painting easy.
Palm trees are an ideal subject for a watercolor painting in many ways, especially if you take a loose approach.
So fitting, don’t you think?
I mean, what says calm, relaxed me-time more than a laid back tropical vibe and a little creative expression?
Let’s get your painting off to a breezy start (see what I did there 😉) with 7 tips on how to paint palm trees in watercolor.
Oh, and would a youtube video demonstration on watercolor palm trees be helpful?
I’ll include one or two of those too.
How to Paint Palm Trees In Watercolor
1 Use a Flexible Brush With a Nice Pointed Tip
I always maintain that all you really need is one big round watercolor brush that comes to a good point to paint just about anything. This is definitely true for painting palm trees.
To paint the palm tree leaves you need to make a shape that’s width tapers off. Fatter at the top and narrowing to a point at the tip. Your round brush can do that with a little practice at varying the pressure.
Press down and you make a wide mark, gradually release that pressure on your brushstroke and the mark becomes increasingly slender.
If you want to mix it up a little, you can also try a dagger brush. The brush tip is flat and shaped like a dagger - hence the name. This means you can get a variety of marks out of this brush by rotating the brush.
With the brush flat to the page you can make a wider mark, but using only the tip will get a very fine mark - almost like a rigger brush would make.
Whichever brush you choose, the flexibility is important. This comes from bristle length. Both a large round brush and a dagger tend to have long bristles. The play in the bristles means that you can get a loose expressive gestural mark - perfect for painting palm trees in watercolor.
2 Study the Formation of The Palm Tree Before You Start Painting
If you want to approach the watercolor palm tree painting in a loose fashion (and I really think that’s best!) then I think spending a few moments study the way the palm tree leaves are formed is very wise.
I don’t recommend a detailed drawing under your painting. All I think you need is to roughly mark in a few of the central ribs on each palm tree leaf.
There is no need to copy every exact detail of a reference photo (or real life palm tree). All you really need is to see that the central ribs of each palm tree leaf spirals out from the top of the trunk in a graceful arch.
So all you really need from you pencil drawing is to identify the approximate length of each leaf and get a rough idea of their placement around the top of the trunk in your painting.
Would you prefer to paint a palm tree in real time with me guiding you every step of the way?
We can do that too. ⬇️
Actually, this tutorial is part of the beach view bundle - 4 tutorials for less than the price of 3.
3 Consider Your Viewing Perspective
Now don’t think we are getting too technical here.
All I mean is that while we know that the palm tree leaves spiral out in a circle from the top of the trunk we don’t want to start with a sketch that looks like spokes on a bicycle wheel.
Importantly, each leaf curves. On top of that, remember that the leaves spiral out in all dimensions making a globe rather than a flat circle.
To paint the palm tree leaves convincingly all you need to do is to remember that you need a variety of lengths to the ribs. The ones that are round the back of the tree appear shorter. They aren’t, of course - it just looks like that from our perspective.
Also, make sure you get some overlapping palm leaves as another important indication of the three dimensional nature of your palm tree for a successful painting.
4 Paint the Palm Tree Leaves in the Direction They Grow
When it comes to adding watercolour paint to the central ribs of the leaves you sketched in I recommend starting with a fine brush stroke over a central rib in the direction that it grows.
This means that if you begin your brush stroke from the top of the trunk you can gradually release the pressure on your stroke a little as you reach the outer tip of the rib making the brush stroke narrow. Just like it is in real life.
In the same way you can now add the little fronds that hang off on either side of that central rib. Start at the rib and make the stroke outwards to the narrow tip.
5 Paint With Your Arm not Your Fingers
Getting the feel of those palm fronds waving in the breeze is a lot to do with the energy in your arm. No, it’s not woo…. it’s more about the physics of creating a gestural mark with your brush.
Hold your brush halfway up the handle rather than having your fingers pinched tightly at the end of the ferrule (metal bit that holds the bristles on the handle).
Let your whole arm move to paint each brush stroke rather than just moving your fingers like you do when you are writing with a pen.
Using the brush like this makes the most of that flexible brush that we talked about in the first tip and is the best way to achieve that loose relaxed natural look to your palm tree fronds.
6 Paint Palm Trees with Interesting Color Variation
To give your watercolor palm trees life and interest try to incorporate some color variation.
Sure, palm trees are green, but they are also gold and pale yellow, even approaching a burnt sienna in some of the older leaves. Even the green is apparent in a whole spectrum from lively lime to deep dark green that is almost black.
Let the color mix on the paper by picking up different colors when you charge your brush and letting the watercolor work its own special blending magic where damp edges meet.
7 Paint your Palm Trees Warts and All
For a good authentic touch, don’t just paint the healthy green fronds that we immediately think of.
At the top of a real palm tree you will usually see a whole lot of dead leaves that collect at the base of the new palm leaf growth.
I think these old dead leaves are beautiful too - let’s not leave them out!
I really like the extra texture of these dark crumpled leaves. It’s a chance to add some interesting darks and color variety.
I love to add a dark purple here and there to indicate the shadows created by these overlapping crumpled dead leaves. There are also pale straw colours and dark rich browns to play with here too - so much opportunity to give your watercolour palm tree some character.
Bonus Tip! Curve the trunks
I know I said 7 tips for painting watercolor palm trees, but there is one more thing I want to share.
Consider it a bonus tip, just to make sure you have a really good idea of how to paint palm tree in watercolor.
We have talked a lot about painting those iconic palm tree leaves but don’t forget that the trunk has a lot to contribute.
Palm trunks are seldom straight like telephone poles. They almost always have a bit of a curve to them - it’s just more whimsical charm. You will often see them leaning at a surprising angle so if you want an authentic palm tree painting avoid a poker straight, upright palm tree.
Looking for that link to a real time, narrated video lesson with me? Here you go…
… or explore the Beach View Bundle with 4 tropical tutorials here
Are you on your own painting journey?
One of these might be useful…
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