Plein Air Painting Workshop: Sketching and Painting Trees

Join us for fun Plein Air painting workshops in 2026 at Tegg's Nose Country Park. In each workshop, experienced professional painters, Christopher Clements and Kieran Ingram, will help you capture a different aspect of landscape painting.

Trees are an essential element in landscape painting. There is endless variety and they present a fascinating challenge to plain air painters. They provide the perfect subject matter in which to explore the principle of unity and variety common to all painting. There must be enough unity to tell what species a tree is but no two trees of the same species are ever quite the same. On top of that, just like a crowd of people, their individual characteristics change when they are seen as a group.

You’ll learn about:

• shape, texture and character of trees
• level of detail to use at different distances
• the effects of lone and groups of trees

Early July is a great time to paint trees as they’re in full leaf and their form as well differences between species are easier to see. This workshop will help you work out how best to simplify and paint trees while maintaining the essence of their character and species. You’ll look at shape, form, colour and texture and how this is affected by their position in the foreground, middle distance or far distance.

Plus, as usual we’ll also cover the practical side of working outside with lots of helpful hints and tips to make sure you get the most out of you plein air painting sessions.

This workshop can be done on its own but it also follows on nicely from the previous two looking at sketching and colour mixing.

All the Plein Air workshops we’re running this summer are based on the Tonalist approach which focuses on interpretation of the light & dark tones of the landscape, while simplifying the colours. The approach will help you to make sense of what you see. You’ll be able to organise it into a well-structured painting, evoking the simple beauty of your environment.

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned painter, these workshops are perfect for anyone looking to improve their Plein Air painting skills. It’s a fantastic opportunity to get out of the studio and unleash your creativity in the great outdoors.

Booking and payment in advance is essential. Workshop Price £85, reserve your place with a £20 deposit on Eventbrite, the remainder will be invoiced before the course.