Hunting Inspiration: How I choose what to paint

 

What I look for when I paint anything, but especially a eucalypt is: Does it tell a story in some way? 

How does a mute tree tell a story, you ask? Well, it helps if it ticks most of the following boxes:

It has an interesting shape

I feel like it’s the shape that gives a tree most of its personality. (Yes? Or is that just me?)

Don’t come to me with your symmetrical pine-tree wannabes: I’m drawn to unique and unexpectedly-shaped eucalypts. Those ones with a branch going haywire off to one side, or trees with epically thick trunks that split into two or more main branches. 

I’m also not after a leaf canopy that resembles the late Queen’s evenly curled coiffure - for my purposes, the scruffier, the better.

  

It contains a good dose of texture

Speaking of scruffy, this is possibly my most favourite part of the eucalyptus species: They all have great texture. Often, they display many contrasting textures at once.

Wrapping my head around how to paint broken bark, peeling bark, intact bark and smooth, young bark - in amongst a shower of leaves - is a challenge I get a real kick out of tackling.

It can bring distinctive colours to the table

All colour is beautiful, but sometimes trees can be pretty run-of-the-mill in their colours. Greys, greens, browns without much variation.

When looking for a tree I’d like to paint, I seek out good contrast in light and dark areas, and interesting relationships between colour. Like the inside and outside colours of old bark as it peels, for example. Or the myriad of colours found in the bark of a wet snow gum. Something that sets it apart from the other trees around it.

It lights up the scene in some way

Whether it’s golden hour sunlight bathing branches in warm tones, or diffused winter foglight that makes backgrounds recede and bark colours sing, certain lighting can bring a tree to life and make it irresistible to paint. The play of shadows along a branch, or the warm glow of a sun-kissed trunk and leaves are what I enjoy painting most.

It gives off some mood / atmosphere

Most of the time, when all of the above four criteria are met, atmosphere just comes with it.

Sometimes though, it’s the mood of the landscape around the tree that first catches my eye. If the day is misty, or there’s storm clouds gathering, that goes a long way toward telling a story. In scenes like these, a eucalyptus tree may only need to have a great shape and good lighting or colour to be paint-worthy for me. 

I feel some kind of personal connection to it

It’s not like a take the tree out for coffee and hope that we at least share the same taste in music, but it’s got to give me pause. 

There are trees I walk past every week that I look at and admire, and there are some trees I’ll get up close to and circle to test different vantage points - even going so far as to photograph them – but ultimately, they still don’t cut it.

Usually inspirational trees appear when I least expect it. They’re often drenched in light, or their branches are curving just so. Often this happens at the most inconvenient times - like when I’m driving home with a boot full of frozen grocery items.

If, in the face of imminent salmonella or worse, melted ice cream, I still bother to stop, photograph and / or sketch it - it’s likely captured my imagination and is usually a shoe-in for a future painting.

What about you? Are there trees in you neck of the woods that you can't help but notice time and again? What about them appeals to you?

If you have a minute, hit reply and let me know!

 

Until next time –