Watercolor Birch Trees

It’s cold and snowy here in New England. I find myself reaching more and more for my watercolor paints. Today I’m sharing some pretty watercolor birch trees and how you can paint them at home!

Silver Birch Trees have such a magical look, especially in winter with snow and against a blue sky! They’re tall skinny trunks make them a great beginner watercolor project.

I thought it would be fun to show you several ways to paint birch trees with watercolor. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, light a candle and grab your watercolor supplies! I’ll outline all the supplies used below, but if you missed my Must Have Watercolor Supplies you might want to check that out!

I love painting in our light filled sunroom with soft music playing. Okay, let’s get ready to have some fun.

3 Ways to Paint Watercolor Birch Trees

I’m breaking this project down into three different techniques:

• The first one uses Masking Fluid to mask off areas of white which will be come the trees. This makes painting the sky background easier because you can wash over it, but I think it gives you a little less control with with white trees.
• Version 2 – is sketching out the all the tree trunks with a black Micron pen and then painting around them with the sky color.
• The 3rd version is using the Micron pen to create the trees but also adding some salt while the watercolor paint is still wet. It creates a subtle icy / snowy look to the paper. See the close up image below:

Why You’ll Love This Watercolor Tutorial

• It’s a great beginner project!
• Any mistakes can be fixed with this loose method.
• Painting birch trees is so relaxing.

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What You Need to Paint Watercolor Birch Trees

• Watercolor Paper – I used both Canson XL Watercolor Paper and Fabriano Watercolor Post Cards – both are affordable
• Paint Brushes – Size 4 and 6 round, a flat brush for wash, an inexpensive paint brush purely for the masking fluid.
• Watercolor Paint – For the snowy trees I used the Kuretake Tambai Watercolors in Black, Ultramarine, & Indigo. The lighter blue I used tube watercolors in Cerulean, Payne’s Gray, Lamp Black, and Windsor Violet.
• Masking Fluid – also available in pen form.
• Paper towels
• Scrap Paper
• Water containers
• Micron Pen – black in size .005
• Posca Pens and Gelly Roll Pens in White
• Washi Tape to hold paper down
• Enamel Palette if using Kuretake

I created a video tutorial and I’m including a step by step card at the bottom of this post. You may want to watch the video through first before attempting your own trees to see which method appeals to you the most or you can try all three!

How to Paint Watercolor Birch Trees

Using Masking Fluid to Create Birch Trees

1. Tape edges of watercolor paper onto a table or hard surface. Be sure to press the tape firmly.
2. Lightly with a pencil draw the tree trunks. You can lighten lines by pressing a kneaded eraser over the lines.
3. Using a cheaper paint brush, apply masking fluid inside the tree trunks, so they remain white. You can also get masking fluids in pen form. Alternatively you could use washi tape for this too if you don’t have masking fluid. Allow masking fluid to dry fully.
4. Apply a wash of blue. I used a mixture of Indigo, Ultramarine and a hint of Black. While still wet you can drop in colors and layer for deeper effect. Allow to dry.
5. Carefully remove the masking fluid from the tree trunks. Remove by gently rubbing the area. 
6. Time to paint the tree trunks. I start with a light watery mix of gray and go up the left side of the tree. Then I drop in dark hues. I also run smaller lines along the right side making them curve. Once dry I apply thicker paint in black to give more definition and detail.
7. Using a Micron Pen draw branches and some more detailed lines to the trunks of the trees.
8. Apply dots using Posca Pens and Gelly Roll Pens. This will appear to look like a snowy sky.
9. Carefully, remove washi tape and enjoy your painting!

Using a Micron Pen to Create Birch Trees

1. Tape edges of watercolor paper onto a table or hard surface. Be sure to press the tape firmly.
2. Draw the shapes of the tree trunks with a Micron pen in black size .005.
3. Apply a wash of the blue. You can use any colors but I used cerulean. While still wet you can drop in colors and layer for deeper effect. I dropped in some Windsor violet. You need to work in sections with this version. Be careful not to paint over the white tree trunks. Allow to dry.
4. Using the same method as before – paint the tree trunks. I start with a light watery mix of gray and go up the left side of the tree. Then I drop in dark hues. I also run smaller lines along the right side making them curve. Once dry I apply thicker paint in black to give more definition and detail.
5. Using a Micron Pen draw branches and some more detailed lines to the trunks of the trees.
6. Carefully remove the washi tape and enjoy your painting.

Create an effect with Salt

1. Follow all the directions in Version 2 but while the background color is still wet apply salt to the wet paint. It will work as a paint resist and make it look frosting on the paper.
2. Once the paint is dry carefully remove the salt by gently rubbing with your finger. Then carry on with painting the rest of the painting.

Painting with Watercolor – Your Questions Answered

Want to Paint More?

Here are more watercolor tutorials I’ve done

• Painting Snowy Evergreen Bookmarks
• How to Paint Fall Branches with Watercolor
• How to Paint Watercolor Seascapes (with a video)

Be sure to pin this for later:

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5 from 1 vote

How to Paint Watercolor Birch Trees

This easy and fun tutorial will show you how to paint birch trees in three ways and also includes a video.

Active Time15 minutes mins

Keyword: birch trees, painting tutorial, watercolor tutorial

Yield: 3 paintings

Equipment

• Hair Dryer optional – speed up drying time

Materials

• Watercolor Paper I used both Canson XL Watercolor Paper and Fabriano Watercolor Post Cards – both are affordable
• Watercolor Brushes Size round 4 and 6, flat brush
• Clean Water
• Paper Towels
• Scrap Paper Use to test colors
• Masking Fluid I used Windsor and Newton but you can also get pen type
• Cheaper Brush To apply Masking Fluid – don't use good watercolor brush.
• Micron Pen in black size .005
• Posca Pens various sizes in white
• Gelly Roll Pens various sizes in white
• Washi Tape
• Enamel Tray if using Kuretake Paints
• Coarse Salt optional

Watercolor Paints

• Payne's Gray Daniel Smith
• Cerulean Blue Windsor Newton
• Windsor Violet Windsor Newton
• Kuretake Tambai Watercolors in Black, Ultramarine, & Indigo

Instructions

Version 1 with Masking Fluid

• Tape edges of watercolor paper onto a table or hard surface. Be sure to press the tape firmly.
• Lightly with a pencil draw the tree trunks. You can lighten lines by pressing a kneaded eraser over the lines.
• Using a cheaper paint brush, apply masking fluid inside the tree trunks, so they remain white. You can also get masking fluids in pen form. Alternatively you could use washi tape for this too if you don’t have masking fluid. Allow masking fluid to dry fully.
• Apply a wash of blue. I used a mixture of Indigo, Ultramarine and a hint of Black. While still wet you can drop in colors and layer for deeper effect. Allow to dry.
• Carefully remove the masking fluid from the tree trunks. Remove by gently rubbing the area.
• Time to paint the tree trunks. I start with a light watery mix of gray and go up the left side of the tree. Then I drop in dark hues. I also run smaller lines along the right side making them curve. Once dry I apply thicker paint in black to give more definition and detail.
• Using a Micron Pen draw branches and some more detailed lines to the trunks of the trees.
• Apply dots using Posca Pens and Gelly Roll Pens. This will appear to look like a snowy sky.
• Carefully, remove washi tape and enjoy your painting!

Version 2 with Micron Pen

• Tape edges of watercolor paper onto a table or hard surface. Be sure to press the tape firmly.
• Draw the shapes of the tree trunks with a Micron pen in black size .005.
• Apply a wash of blue. You can use any colors but I used cerulean. While still wet you can drop in colors and layer for deeper effect. I dropped in some Windsor violet. You need to work in sections with this version. Be careful not to paint over the white tree trunks. Allow to dry.
• Using the same method as before – paint the tree trunks. I start with a light watery mix of gray and go up the left side of the tree. Then I drop in dark hues. I also run smaller lines along the right side making them curve. Once dry I apply thicker paint in black to give more definition and detail.
• Using a Micron Pen draw branches and some more detailed lines to the trunks of the trees.
• Carefully remove the washi tape enjoy.

Video

Notes

Version 3 – using salt with watercolor.

Follow all the directions in Version 2 but while the background color is still wet apply salt to the wet paint. It will work as a paint resist and make it look frosting on the paper. Once the paint is dry carefully remove the salt by gently rubbing with your finger. Then carry on with painting the rest of the painting.

Ideas for using your watercolors :

• Frame and hang or display in your home
• Scan them to create a pattern or digital printable
• Create cards celebrating winter or winter holidays.

Did you paint these watercolor birch trees? If so, let me know!

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