The tree on Adriatic Coast and Velebit Mnt. (24th July 2014)

Light pours from above across this serene coastal study, rendering a solitary tree as the focal point against a luminous sky. The composition divides into three horizontal bands: a soft, warm sky in pale lavender and cream tones, a delicate sea horizon marked by blue and purple washes, and a rocky foreground in rust and brown tones. The eye enters through the tree's central trunk and spreads outward along its branches, which reach toward that weightless sky. The entire scene reads as high-key and atmospheric, with the sky and distant mountains treated in nearly identical pale values to emphasize aerial perspective.

This is a compressed, high-key value range where the darks are still quite light. The darkest accents appear in the tree trunk and central branches, followed by the rocky foreground in mid-brown tones. The sea and distant mountains sit in a narrow mid-value band of pale blue and lavender. The lightest lights are the sky and exposed paper throughout, which creates the luminous effect. Squint and you see mostly one gentle mass of light, with the tree providing the only clear tonal anchor.

• #f5ece8

  pale yellow ochre or lemon yellow, highly diluted

  upper sky and pale areas throughout

• #e4e2da

  alizarin or rose madder + titanium white, very diluted

  soft pink tones in sky and tree foliage

• #c3adac

  burnt sienna or raw sienna + ultramarine blue, mid-tone

  tree trunk, branches, and foreground rocks

• #cfd2ce

  ultramarine or cerulean blue + alizarin, pale lavender

  distant mountains, sea, and sky shadows

• #f4e2e2

  alizarin + very little ultramarine, pale mauve

  soft tree foliage areas and sky transitions

• #ecd4d7

  rose madder + cadmium yellow pale, very diluted

  warm transition areas in rock formation and middle ground

Nearly every edge in this painting is soft and diffused, achieved through wet-on-wet application and allowing pigment to bloom naturally into damp paper. The tree trunk and branches show the most definition, though still painterly and not hard-edged. The foreground rocks transition with soft, layered washes rather than drawn boundaries; blue and purple shadows suggest form without outline. The brushwork is gestural and loose, with visible paper texture creating luminosity—each stroke breathes rather than defines.

1. 01

   Establish the sky wash

   Wet the entire upper half of your paper with clean water, then drop in pale yellow ochre in the center-top, pale pink (alizarin + water) on the left, and soft lavender (ultramarine + alizarin, heavily diluted) on the upper right and left corners. Let these bloom and merge. Do not touch it again; let gravity and water do the work. Preserve the brightest whites.

2. 02

   Suggest the distant mountains and sea horizon

   While the sky is still damp, drop very pale lavender and pale blue washes across the middle of the paper, creating a soft horizontal line that reads as the horizon. The mountains should almost disappear into the sky—they are barely darker than the sky around them. These washes should merge upward into the sky wash without hard edges.

3. 03

   Define the tree structure lightly

   Once the sky wash is dry, use a thin brush and a pale warm brown (burnt sienna + ultramarine) to suggest the tree's central trunk rising from the lower portion. Keep it sketchy and allow the pencil line or initial wash to guide you, but do not make it harsh. Branch lines should be delicate and pale, barely darker than the surrounding sky-colored washes.

4. 04

   Develop tree foliage with soft color

   Using soft pink, pale mauve, and pale yellow-green washes, begin filling the canopy areas where branches spread. These washes should feel transparent, allowing the sky colors beneath to shimmer through. Work around the trunk but keep the boundary loose—foliage should suggest rather than define. Leave gaps showing sky.

5. 05

   Establish the rocky foreground

   Paint the lower quarter with mid-tone reddish-brown and rust washes (burnt sienna + touches of ultramarine), but leave significant white paper showing through—rocks are suggested by shape and shadow, not filled forms. Drop blue and purple shadows into damp areas to create depth and form without outlines. The rocks should read as simplified shapes, not detailed texture.

6. 06

   Deepen tree trunk and branch structure

   With slightly stronger warm brown (burnt sienna + ultramarine), reinforce the central trunk and primary branches. Add touches of purple-brown to one side of the trunk to suggest roundness. Keep the touch light—this watercolor lives in suggestion. Add thin, delicate secondary branches reaching into the sky using a very diluted version of your trunk color.

7. 07

   Ground the composition and refine edges

   Darken the foreground rocks slightly with deeper rust and brown washes where they anchor the tree, and drop in additional blue-purple shadows in the rocky areas. Add a touch of green foliage on the left side (viridian + yellow, pale). Step back and check that no edge is harsh except where the tree trunk meets foreground—nearly everything should feel soft and atmospheric. Let any final washes dry undisturbed.

• Over-darkening the entire painting—the mood hinges on high-key, luminous values throughout. Resist the urge to add richness by deepening the sea or sky.
• Making the tree too defined or solid—it must remain semi-transparent and integrated with the sky, not a dark shape pasted on top.
• Over-working the foreground rocks into a busy texture—they should stay simplified with soft transitions; too much detail will fight the painting's delicate atmosphere.
• Hardening any edges besides the tree trunk—every other transition, especially mountains-to-sky and sea-to-sky, must remain diffused to preserve luminosity.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility