Painting Christmas Trees with Acrylic Paint

Trying to paint a perfect evergreen tree? It can be harder than you might think, especially if you're not used to working with acrylic paints. Once you learn the stippling technique, however, you'll be painting majestic trees to use in Christmas decor or any nature painting year-round.

Stippling is a painting technique used to paint trees and give the illusion of texture. Here's how to do it:

To get started, you'll need a medium flat paintbrush and acrylic paint. Glass o' wine is optional but recommended.

Practice this technique a few times on paper before getting started on your canvas painting.

HOW TO STIPPLE:
• Dip the tip of your brush in paint, getting only a little on the very end of the bristles. Too much paint makes for blobby trees.
• Using short, vertical movements, dab the end of the brush straight down onto the canvas. Make a small horizontal line with each motion.
• Use a light touch and don’t make any sweeping movements. You just want your brush to "kiss" the canvas, then immediately lift it up again.
• Step back and assess the way your brush is hitting the canvas. Do you need a little more paint? Shorter dashes? More pressure on the brush? Correct as needed and keep stippling!
• Don’t worry about making your trees too symmetrical or having each stroke be exactly the same size, shape, or angle. After all, real trees are never perfectly shaped. Imperfect really IS perfect.

If you find yourself forgetting that last tip, have a little wine, take a deep breath, and get back to work on those uniquely, beautifully imperfect evergreens. Once you’ve got the hang of the stippling movement, you’ll be able to paint a whole forest of trees in a few minutes. No two real trees are identical, so feel free to give yours some individuality too.

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