Gate of temple in Japan

Sunlight floods from above, illuminating a bright sky that bleeds through gaps in the dense tree canopy. Your eye enters through the warm sandy foreground path and travels up and back between dark tree trunks toward the temple structures nestled in the middle distance. The composition is dominated by vertical rhythms of black-barked trees, their foliage rendered in loose, directional strokes that push forward and recede. The temple roofs (warm burnt browns on the right, hints of structure center-left) peek through the forest rather than commanding the scene—they are revealed, not displayed.

The lightest lights cluster in the sky and upper foliage (pale lavender-grey highlights bleeding into the canopy). The darkest darks anchor the tree trunks and deepest shadow areas within the foliage—nearly black. The foreground path sits in bright mid-light (warm ochre-tan). Squint and you'll see three clear value bands: luminous sky, dense dark green canopy mass, and light sandy foreground, with the temple structures reading as warm mid-tones caught between them.

• #e4e3dd

  Titanium white + touch of ultramarine or raw sienna for warmth

  Sky breaks between trees, highlights in foliage, pale sky at top

• #7f9b94

  Cerulean blue + viridian + white; or ultramarine + yellow ochre + white

  Blue-grey shadow tones in foliage, atmospheric recessions in canopy

• #6c7f78

  Viridian + ultramarine + touch of burnt sienna for muted green-grey

  Mid-tone foliage masses, trees and branches in shadow

• #4b524f

  Ultramarine + burnt sienna + touches of black (or ultramarine + alizarin)

  Tree trunks, deepest shadows within foliage, definition of dark forms

• #c6c5b7

  Titanium white + yellow ochre + touch of ultramarine

  Pale warm greys in temple structure, weathered building materials

• #d4a373

  Yellow ochre + burnt sienna + white; or raw sienna + white

  Sandy foreground path, warm earth tones

Burliuk uses bold, directional strokes that follow the movement of foliage and growth patterns of trees. Tree trunks are painted with firm edges against lighter backgrounds but remain painterly—not photographic. Foliage is suggested through loose, overlapping brushwork where individual strokes remain visible; you see the painter's hand deciding where light hits and shadow recedes. Hard edges define architectural forms (temple posts and roofs), but the overall effect stays energetic and expressive rather than precious.

1. 01

   Establish the sky and light structure

   Block in the upper half with pale sky: titanium white with traces of ultramarine and raw sienna. Work wet-into-wet to let the upper foliage break through with soft edges. Leave areas of bright white or very pale lavender where sunlight will pierce the canopy—these become your reference lights for everything that follows.

2. 02

   Paint the foreground path

   Establish the sandy path in the lower third with warm ochres and burnt sienna. Vary the value—it's not uniform. Add cooler (bluer) shadow areas where trees cast shadows across the ground. This warm foundation anchors the composition and will recede convincingly once the darker elements sit in front of it.

3. 03

   Mass the dark tree canopy

   Using your darkest greens and blue-greys (ultramarine + viridian + touch of burnt sienna), paint the dense upper foliage as bold shapes. Don't render individual leaves—think in terms of light-catching edges and shadow masses. Follow the vertical thrust of where the tree trunks will go. Leave gaps where you previewed light in step 1.

4. 04

   Define the tree trunks and vertical structure

   Paint dark, prominent tree trunks with very dark green-black (ultramarine + burnt sienna). Make them vary in width, position, and how much they're occluded by foliage. The central trees frame the temple; the left trees recede and are darker. Use confident, vertical strokes—don't fidget.

5. 05

   Suggest the temple structures

   With warm mid-tone browns and weathered greys (burnt sienna + ultramarine + white), indicate the temple roofs and posts emerging through the forest. The right temple is more visible; the left structures hint at architecture. Don't detail—imply posts, roof angles, and the sense of human-made form among nature. Keep edges softer than the tree trunks.

6. 06

   Layer and model the foliage

   Return to the canopy and build depth with overlapping glazes of medium greens and blue-greys. Where light hits foliage clumps, add touches of yellowish-green or pale lavender. Build form through value shift, not by drawing. The middle-distance foliage should sit closer to the frame than the background sky hints.

7. 07

   Refine edges and add atmospheric depth

   Soften edges where foliage meets sky; keep tree trunks crisp where they read against light. Add cooler (more blue) tones to receding foliage in the middle distance. Ensure the pale highlights read convincingly by keeping surrounding foliage darker. A few touches of pale lavender-white where sunlight breaks through the canopy will complete the sense of a bright day.

• Making the foliage too detailed or photographic—Burliuk suggests form through bold strokes and value shifts, not by rendering texture. Resist over-blending.
• Placing trees too symmetrically. They have varied spacing, overlap, and angles. Study the asymmetrical rhythm in the actual composition.
• Using uniformly bright or pure greens. The greens here are muted by blues and warmed by ochres; they're sophisticated, not garden-bright.
• Underestimating the warmth of the foreground path and temple materials. These warm ochres and burnt siennas are crucial for drawing the eye and creating spatial recession.
• Losing the architectural presence of the temple among the foliage. The structures need just enough clarity—posts, roof angles, and a sense of human-made form—to read, but shouldn't compete with the forest.
• Painting hard edges everywhere. Foliage edges should be soft and merged; crisp edges belong only to tree trunks and temple structure.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility