Trees are a challenging subject — but only if we let them be. They can be a vehicle for a wide range of experimentation and mark-making. In a foundation-level drawing class where the goal is naturalism most of the time, the simple advice is to make the leaves into a texture, a suggestion of leaves, and to let the context of the scene allow the viewer to project into that scribbly mass the quality of leaves. Leaves blow in the wind, they move — give them the liberty to suggest movement by animating the masses with a gestural, scribbly energy. Another way to think about it: a tree sometimes looks like an explosion frozen in time — give your trees that same outward, expanding energy (are they not reaching out for the sun?). Have some empathy for your tree, give it life — just don’t worry about drawing every leaf.
