Creating trees in watercolor
Examples of different brushes, strokes and moisture content to render evergreen and deciduous trees. Note the paper is dry for most of this demo with the exception of the grouping in the upper right of the page. Layering light pigment first for highlights and darker pigment second for shadows builds a credible tree.
The technique for deciduous trees (center bottom) requires rolling a round brush over a rough textured paper. Your brush should not be too wet or your marks will be solid. A drier brush creates more varied textures allowing the paper or pigment beneath to show through.