Fall Inspired Birch Trees Canvas Art
Autumnal tones of honey gold, bronzy russet and pumpkin spice are one of nature’s most perfect color harmonies.
I was recently inspired by some wall décor I saw online, so I decided to make my own versions to use for fall. This tutorial is one of two canvases I created. See the other one here.
I already had all the paint and glitter, so my only cost for these two projects was for the canvases.
MATERIALS
Stretch canvas in size of choice (mine was 12" x 12")
Paint
Small Brushes – 1", 1/4", scroller, fan brush and small round stencil brush
Gold Glitter
HOW-TO
Background. For the canvas with the birch tree scene depicted in my inspiration art, I first painted the background with a Valspar color sample of a light gray with a tinge of green in it using a 1" brush.
Next I added in some random blobs of off-white acrylic paint with a 1/4" brush to give the background some interest.
On the bottom third(ish) of the canvas, I layered some off-white, tan and brown to create the ground area. I also added a few dabs of off-white on the top portion where the “leaves” would be falling.
I spritzed some water over the canvas to blend the colors with a fan brush, and then lightly brushed it vertically across the surface to soften them even more. The idea was to get the colors in the right area without having a hard line between them.
The next step was adding in some of the more reflective colors on the bottom, which I did by randomly adding soft touches of General Finishes Pearl Effects (Burnished, Bronze and Tawny) with a fan brush. You could also use any kind of acrylic craft paint, preferably something metallic to get the effect shown here.
Trees. To add in the tree bases, I used some off-white and swiped various sized lines vertically, starting the narrower ones higher up from the bottom as if they were further away from the viewer.
I added a little bit of General Finishes Extender to some Bronze Pearl Effects, then used a scroller brush to create the limbs and darker bark areas.
Leaves. Next the leaves were added using the scroller brush and some GF Burnished Pearl Effects. I didn’t really try to make leaf shapes, just some gold blobs. I came back with some of the darker Bronze Pearl Effects to create some depth to the color.
Finally, I used the small stencil brush dipped in the Burnished gold to soften the edges of the tree bases with a dabbing motion, which gave the ground area a little shimmer. While the paint was still wet, I sprinked a bit of gold glitter.
There you go — an easy piece of art that would look great among your other fall décor items!
Enjoyed the project?
Comments
Join the conversation
-
Sandpiper@access comments. ca on Nov 18, 2019
I might and I would ....surprise myself.
-
-
-
Lori Haught Harper on Nov 20, 2019
Thank you so much, Rita! Glad you liked it!
-
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
What is a scrolled brush please? Your art looks lovely btw.
What about something like this for Christmas?
Hi Lori, I love your painting. Were you inspired by Bob Ross? Whatever the inspiration, it was well placed, when it landed in your mind and soul! Well done!
R.C.Leach