Orchids on your Budget #10...Christmas decorating with a twist...

 

Here's how I painted my own Nordic inspired Christmas Tree canvas.

 

We've been leaning towards a Scandinavian Christmas décor for a couple of years now, and this style of alternative to a traditional Christmas tree, just makes sense for us this year. If we bother putting our tabletop feather tinsel tree up at all, it may well be decorated with fairy lights and not much else. That's definitely in keeping with this restrained, yet elegant style.

 

So for the painting you'll need:

 

Canvas of a size you prefer

Acrylic paint in Grey, Vivid White, Scarlet, and Metallic Silver

A small artists sponge roller

Something to use as a palette...a plastic plate is fine

Wide flat brush

A small wad of paper towel or muslin/cheesecloth

A variety of smaller paintbrushes

A ballpoint pen with a defined round top

And old toothbrush

A wooden skewer

 

Start by taking the Grey acrylic paint, and squeezing a good amount on to your palette. Add a dessertspoon full of water to thin it just slightly. Wet the sponge roller, and squeeze the excess water from it. Roll the Grey paint all over your canvas, ensuring it's well covered. Add more paint and water to your palette as required.

 

 Paint the edges of your canvas as well...

 

 

Lay that all flat, and allow about 30 minutes for it to dry.

 

Squeeze some of the Vivid White paint onto your palette and thin it slightly with a little water too. Use the wide flat brush to paint in sweeping curved strokes, from top to bottom of your canvas. This is meant to represent snow or sleet or clouds, or the turning of the Earth, or whatever you take it to mean.

 

Working quickly, dampen your wad of paper towel or muslin, and while the paint is still wet, rub over the white to soften and blend the edges.

 

Now squeeze some of the Vivid White and some of the Metallic Silver onto your palette. Dip the edge of your wide flat brush into a little of both and start dabbing it on to represent your tree.

 

I just made the branches go every which way for mine. There was no rhyme or reason to it really.

 

Allow that to dry a little, just so you don't accidentally smudge it while you do the next step.

 

Squeeze some of the Scarlet paint on to your palette, and dip the round end of your ballpoint pen (the top) into the paint, and use it to dab neat little round 'berries' at the end of each branch. Add additional berries along the branches if you want, but keep it restrained.

 

 

Now take your wooden skewer, and dip the blunt end into the White paint, and add a little dot to each berry to represent gloss and sparkle. Add more dots all over to represent snow falling. Then use the edges of the skewer, to make star shapes to represent stars/snowflakes. Thin the white paint a little, dip the toothbrush in, and run your thumb along the bristles, allowing the paint to spray onto the canvas to look like fine snow falling.

 

Done.

 

Hang with pride, adding additional elements such as candles and berries beneath.

 

Paint an extra one as a gift. You're clever enough!

 

...Mimi...