_402513.PNG "Leisure Painter"){kind=small}
Summer River, acrylic, (21x30cm) Terry Harrison
How to Paint a Simple Tree using Acrylic Paints
_402515.PNG)
Terry Harrison - Posted on 12 Sep 2009
How to Paint a Simple Tree in Acrylics
You will need:
Support
- Medium-grain canvas board
Atelier Interactive Acrylic Colours
- Cadmium yellow
- Forest green
- Burnt umber
- White
Brushes
- Terry Harrison foliage brush or 1/2in flat bristle
- Terry Harrison half rigger or No. 3 rigger
Miscellaneous
- Stay-wet palette
Step One
With the half rigger and a dark green mixed from forest green and burnt umber, paint the tree trunk and branches.
Step Two
Using the same mix of green as the tree trunk and the foliage brush, stipple the leaves on top of the tree shape. Allow this to dry.
.jpg)
Step Three
Mix a lighter colour by adding a little white to the dark green mix. If the colour becomes too dull and milky, add a little cadmium yellow to brighten it. Lightly stipple the sunlit parts of the foliage on top of the darks. This will create an instant three-dimensional effect.
Tips
Always paint in the direction that the tree grows. Start at the bottom of the tree trunk then add the branches.
Avoid having the paint too wet. Always remove any excess water from the brush by either squeezing the brush head with your fingers or by dabbing the wet brush onto some kitchen towel. If the brush is overloaded, the paint will flood out of the brush; if the paint is too thick, the paint will simply not flow from the brush.
This demonstration is from the first in a series on painting landscapes by Terry Harrison.
This issue includes a SPECIAL OFFER on Terry's four-brush set used in all of these articles!
.jpg)
