Underpainting for Fox Den and Hemlock

The first thing I do is apply a thin dark neutral over the entire piece. Then block in the trees and deeper parts of the woods with black- greens and black- browns. The normal rule of thumb for perspective is the farther back in the landscape, the lighter you paint, but this is a setting with the dark woods reaching beyond. 

         

Starting at the top, I work in very dark leafy shapes, leaving some of the darkest show between the leaves and tree trunks. Next I begin to place ferns, painting the darker, more distant ferns first, and working my way forward and down. It is tedious work, so I give myself a break occasionally and paint the lichen and moss on the tree bark. Lastly I add sunlit leaves hanging down from branches of the background trees. I also add highlights on the ferns where sun is peeking through the trees. I loosely work in several exposed roots in the foreground to get a sense of placement.