**This DIY blog post is sponsored by Michaels. All thoughts, opinions, ideas, and content creation are my own. Thank you Michaels for sponsoring this fun acrylic leaf painting how-to tutorial!**
It’s time to have fun and paint all the leaves together! Before I go into all the how-to steps and details, I have to be honest. Painting on canvas literally makes me soo nervous. Please say I’m not the only one ;) I literally have a collection of them laying around in my studio. Well this year has been all about going out of my comfort zone and trying new things. So, let’s finally do this together and have fun!
This acrylic leaf painting was inspired by my love for plants and the color pink! I thought this project would be perfect especially since summer is right around the corner!
Supplies:
Water, Paint Tray, Canvas, Paint brushes (wash brush for the background + round brush (size 6) and angle brush (size 1/4) for the leaves), and Acrylic paints (2 shades of green (dark + light) and a bright color for the background).
Okay.. ready, set, go! Grab your art supplies because it’s time to paint all the leaves!
Step One: Paint the entire canvas, including the edges, to create the background using your bright acrylic paint.
Step Two: After the canvas has fully dried, use the round brush to paint a leaf with the darker shade of green.
Step Three (painting leaves): Using the tip of the brush, create the stem with a light upstroke. Then paint a leaf at the top of the stem. Paint leaves by starting with a light stroke, then transitioning into a heavy stroke using the belly of the brush. Reshape the leaves to smooth out the edges as needed.
Step Four: Paint the leaves as shown starting at the corners and along the sides of the canvas.
Step Five: Paint another style leaf by painting longer leaf strokes using the angle brush and the lighter shade of green.
Step Six: Add a different look by painting some overlapping leaves and reshaping the tips of some leaves as needed.
Tip: Feel free to change the direction of the leaves by reshaping them. Make sure to alternate the colors when overlapping the leaves.
Step Seven: Continue to paint more leaves to fill the edges.
Yay!! You did it! Thank you for taking the time to create and paint with me! I hope you had lots of fun! If you recreate this piece, give me a quick tag on social media at @lettersbyshells because I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see your beautiful creations and don’t forget to use the hashtag #MakeItWithMichaels!
Remember, you are amazing, awesome and seriously the BEST! Sending you all the love and positive vibes! #DIYtutorial #acrylicpainting #tropicalleaves #arttutorial #artprocess #sponsored