Birch trees
Painting is a relaxing yet exciting pastime because you can create the world that you want on the piece of canvas. Depending on the type of scene that you want to paint, you can create endless things such as mountains, rivers, waterfalls or plants. Shrubs and trees are often an integral part of any landscape painting because they can be part of the backdrop or they can take center stage. A birch tree is a stunning addition to any painting.
Instructions
1. Study the shape of a birch tree. Sketch a birch tree so that you can get a feel for the layout of the branches. Note the shape of the tree trunk as it reaches toward the sky. Study the smallest details such as the way branches spread out from the trunk and taper into smaller branches until they become twigs. Draw several birch trees until you are comfortable with its design.
2. Note the colors of the trunk and the bark as they are rarely just a pure white. Many times the trunk will reflect colors from different sources such as deep yellow from the sunlight, shades of green from leaves, or shades of gray from a cloudy sky.
3. Sketch the birch tree on the canvas making as many twists and turns in the trunk as you desire.
4. Dilute your acrylic paints with water until they are watercolor consistency. Use colors such as ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna or rose madder to add color to your tree.
5. Use a flat brush and pick up the three colors you want to use. Paint a multicolor wash on the trunk and branches of your tree. Allow the colors to blend together on your canvas for an artistic effect. The texture of a birch tree is very rough so if the paint flows outside of the lines slightly, its even better because it will look more realistic.
6. Apply a puddle of paint in the color that you desire to one side of the trunk of the birch tree. Use the side of the credit card to drag the puddle of paint towards the middle section of the tree and to the other side. Wipe the credit card with a paper towel after each stroke that you make. Repeat the same technique on the entire trunk to give the tree a sense of roundness and texture.
7. Paint in the dark lines or markings in the tree trunk using raw umber or raw sienna. Curve the strokes so they look like they are going around the tree.
8. Use dark burnt umber to deepen the color of the markings you have created in step 7. Allow the painting to dry.
9. Continue to use the flat brush but use an up-and-down stroke to make shadows on the tree wherever you feel they should be. Paint colors such as ultramarine blue or cobalt blue work well.
10. Paint leaves with a round brush if you desire. Use different shades of green paint to create the body of the leaves but avoid making individual leaves. Highlight some of the clumps of leaves to give them a sense of depth.
