Urban Sketching:
Trees & Foliage
Trees appear in almost every location and catch people out because the temptation is to draw a particular tree. These exercises teach the principle instead: structure first, then build from it. You’ll draw one tree in two seasons, leaves that sit naturally in a scene, grass, weeds and ferns, and palm trees with positive and negative space.
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What’s Inside
One tree, two seasons
Trees appear everywhere, and the temptation is to draw a specific one. Don’t. I show the same tree six months apart. In summer a broad cloud shape in brush pen, a light edge in fine liner, and swirling marks for foliage with gaps left.
Leaves that belong
Not a study of leaf shapes, but how leaves integrate into a sketch. Leaves growing round an old truck’s hubcaps, an olive tree where the leaves are suggested, and palms in Marrakesh, where it’s often the space between the leaves you draw.
Grass, weeds and ferns
Grass is one of the trickier things because we’re tempted to overdo it. Two examples first: the common at Lower Slaughter, drawn in stylised short strokes, and grass that stops a sandstone wall floating.
Palm trees and negative space
In Plaça Reial, Barcelona, the palms lock over one another, which throws up abstract patterns. We emphasise the gaps in between, the negative space, and contrast it with the positive space of the leaves.
Stylised palm trees
Palm trees are often pushed into the distance, so a stylised approach gives them presence.
£8
One-time payment. Lifetime access.
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Questions about this bundle
What is in Urban Sketching: Trees & Foliage?
5 short video exercises: One tree, two seasons; Leaves that belong; Grass, weeds and ferns; Palm trees and negative space; Stylised palm trees. It costs £8 once and you keep lifetime access.
Do I need to have done a painting workshop first?
No. A bundle is a separate, self-contained set of exercises on one skill. If you later want to see skills like this used in a whole painting, my painting workshops do exactly that.
When can I enrol?
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Can I get a refund?
Yes, within 14 days of purchase, as long as you have not gone beyond the introduction or first lesson, because by then you have received the digital content. Email mike@artyfactor.com with the bundle name and the email you enrolled with. The full wording is in the Refund and returns policy.
How long do I have access?
It is one payment of £8 and you keep lifetime access.
Where this leads
Want to see the whole picture?
This bundle covers one skill. My painting workshops show how skills like this come together in a finished painting, one stage at a time.
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