Fern print in white on black, every leaflet showingWhite, on black paper. Lay the painted frond down, cover it with scrap paper and rub with the flat of your hand.
Three leaves afloat on black water, a ripple around eachBlack, orange, yellow, red, white. Paint each leaf flat and ring it once in fine white.
Three ages of one leaf: green, yellow, brownGreen, yellow, brown. Paint the same outline three times and change only the wash.
Brushed trunk crowned with a dozen printed leavesBrown, green, lime. Paint the trunk and branches with a brush, then print a leaf at the end of each branch.
Card border of one small leaf printed edge to edgeGold, on brown paper. Print one small leaf again and again along all four edges.
Fern print in white on black, every leaflet showingWhite, on black paper. Lay the painted frond down, cover it with scrap paper and rub with the flat of your hand.
Leaf print turned into a fish with a dot eye and a tailOrange, black, white. Print the leaf sideways, then add an eye and a forked tail with a brush.
One leaf printed along a curve, red through purpleRed, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Wipe the leaf between colors and print six times along a curve.
One white leaf print on dark green paperWhite, on dark green paper. Brush white on the veined side of a leaf, press it down and peel it away.
Overlapping prints in three greens, the darkest on topLime, green, dark green. Print the pale leaves first, let them dry and overlap the darker ones.
Ring of prints around a traced plate, stalks pointing inOrange, red, gold. Trace a plate lightly and press leaves around the line with every stalk pointing inward.
Row of five prints from one leaf, fading as they goBlue, on white paper. Load the leaf once and print it five times in a row without reloading.
Second, paler press of a leaf beside its first printTeal, on cream paper. Print once, then press the same leaf again beside it without more paint.
Tall narrow canvas of prints tumbling at every angleRust, mustard, plum. Turn the leaf a little before each print so no two point the same way.
Two-color print: yellow at the tip, red at the stalkYellow, red. Brush yellow on one half of the leaf and red on the other, letting them meet in the middle.
Painted on a real leaf 12
Banded leaves laid in a row, no two color pairs alikeAny two bright colors per leaf, white. Paint bands across each leaf from stalk to tip.
Dark pressed leaf with every vein followed in goldGold, on a dark dry leaf. Follow each vein with a liner brush from the stalk outward.
Garland of painted leaves threaded by their stalksRed, orange, gold, white. Paint each leaf one flat color, add white dots and thread them through the stalks.
Half-painted leaf: one side natural, one side patternedBlack, white. Leave one side of the center vein bare and fill the other with small patterns.
Leaf owl: two big dot eyes and a beak on an oval leafWhite, yellow, black, orange. Paint two white rounds, yellow inside them, and a small orange triangle below.
Leaf painted navy and sprinkled with tiny constellationsNavy, white, yellow. Coat the leaf navy, let it dry and dot stars with a cotton swab.
Leaf people: faces painted on five leaves in a lineWhite, black, pink. Paint two eyes and a mouth on each leaf and let the stalks be legs.
Long leaf painted as a feather, barbs in fine white linesWhite, gray, on a long dry leaf. Pull fine lines outward from the center vein on both sides.
Maple leaf turned upside down into a fox faceOrange, white, black. Hold the leaf tip down, paint two upper lobes as ears and the tip as a black nose.
Pressed leaf covered in rows of white dotsWhite, on a dry brown leaf. Dot rows along each vein with a cotton swab.
Small ladybug painted near the stalk of a pressed leafRed, black, white. Press the leaf flat and dry first, then paint the bug where the stalk begins.
Tiny landscape painted across one large dry leafBlue, green, white, yellow. Paint sky on the top half and hills on the lower, and let the leaf edge frame it.
Fall leaves on canvas 12
Brown oak leaf curled like a boat, an acorn riding in itBrown, rust, tan, gray. Scallop the lobed edges with a round brush.
Fall leaves pegged along a clothesline, five colors in a rowRed, orange, gold, brown, plum. Paint one sagging line across the canvas and peg five leaves to it, one color each.
Frost-edged leaf lying on the grassBrown, white, pale blue, green. Outline the leaf and its veins with a fine broken line of white.
Last leaf on a twig against a white skyRust, brown, white, gray. Paint the twig bare and give its one leaf all the color.
Leaf caught mid-change: green stalk, yellow middle, red tipGreen, yellow, red. Blend the three along the leaf while they are wet.
Leafy twig as a black cutout on yellow, orange and redYellow, orange, red, black. Blend the background, let it dry and paint a branch of leaves in flat black.
One maple leaf filling the canvas, red center to gold edgeRed, orange, gold, brown. Paint the center red and blend outward through orange to gold at the points.
Rubber boots wading ankle-deep through fallen colorOrange, brown, red, navy. Dab the leaves with the corner of a flat brush and paint two navy boots mid-step.
Sampler of leaf outlines: round, pointed, lobed, toothedRust, olive, gold, plum, cream. Paint the leaves in rows on a cream ground and vary the outline of each.
Three leaves afloat on black water, a ripple around eachBlack, orange, yellow, red, white. Paint each leaf flat and ring it once in fine white.
Wind catching a swirl of leaves above a rakeOrange, red, yellow, brown, blue. Dab the leaves in a loose spiral and paint the rake small below.
Yellow ginkgo leaves strewn across wet gray pavingYellow, gold, gray. Paint each fan from the stalk outward in curved strokes.
Green and tropical leaves 12
Banana leaf in long strokes from center vein to edgeGreen, lime, yellow green. Pull each stroke from the center vein out to the edge.
Fan palm frond spread like an open handGreen, olive, cream. Paint the pleats from one point outward, like the ribs of a fan.
Feather palm frond: a curved stalk, leaflets on both sidesDark green, lime. Curve the stalk first and pull short strokes off it on both sides.
Fern fiddlehead uncoiling beside an open frondGreen, brown, yellow green. Paint a tight spiral for the fiddlehead and a ladder of leaflets for the frond.
Glass jar holding a trio of stems, a leaf apieceGreen, pale blue, white. Outline the jar in pale blue and stand three stems in it.
Jungle wall of overlapping leaves in five greensLime, green, emerald, teal, dark green. Paint the back leaves dark and each layer in front a little lighter.
Monstera built lobe by lobe, its gaps and holes left bareGreen, dark green. Paint each lobe as its own finger from the stalk outward and leave the gaps and holes unpainted.
One big houseplant leaf in a clay pot against a pink wallGreen, rust, pink, cream. Paint one big leaf on a single stem rising from a rust pot.
Round floating pad seen from overhead, one notch cut inGreen, yellow green, white, teal. Paint a round leaf with one notch and a white bead near the middle.
Single water bead about to roll off a shiny leaf tipGreen, white, dark green. Paint the drop as a pale dome with a white glint and a dark green edge below.
Tropical leaf pattern in pink and green on whitePink, green, white. Repeat one simple leaf shape at different angles across the canvas.
Variegated leaf: wavy cream border around greenGreen, cream, yellow green. Paint the leaf cream first and fill the green inside, leaving a wavy border.
Watercolor studies of veins 12
Backlit leaf, veins darker than the glowing washYellow green, green, dark green. Wash the leaf pale and draw the veins over it in dark green once it is dry.
Center vein pressed thick, side veins lifting to a hairDark green, pale green wash. Wash the leaf pale; when dry, press for the center vein and lift as each side vein thins.
Ginkgo fan, its veins like the folds of a paper fanYellow, gold, olive. Pull every vein from the stalk to the edge without crossing another.
Half-finished study: one side in color, one in pencilGreen, yellow green, gray. Paint only the left of the center vein and keep the right side as pencil outline and veins.
Leaf in one olive wash at three strengthsOlive green, white paper. Use the wash pale for the leaf, mid for the shadows and full for the veins.
Maple study: ribs painted first, a lobe built on eachRed, orange, brown. Draw the main veins first, all from one point, and build a lobe on each.
One green wash, its veins lifted out with a damp brushSap green, white paper. Wash the leaf, then stroke a clean damp brush along each vein to lift the color.
Three ages of one leaf: green, yellow, brownGreen, yellow, brown. Paint the same outline three times and change only the wash.
Veins drawn in pen, a loose wash spilling past the outlineBlack pen, green wash. Draw the outline and veins in waterproof pen, then let one loose wash run past the lines.
Veins left as bare paper between panels of colorGreen, yellow green. Paint each panel between the veins separately and leave a hair of paper between them.
Wet-in-wet fall leaf, three colors running togetherYellow, orange, crimson. Wet the leaf shape and touch in the three colors so they run.
White wax veins showing through a wash of greenGreen, white wax crayon. Draw the veins in white crayon and wash green over them.
How it works
A leaf goes yellow in fall because its green fades and the yellow underneath, there all summer, finally shows. The reds are made new. So paint a fall leaf yellow first and red last.
Read the full guide
Leaf prints, veins down
Print from whichever side of the leaf shows its veins more. Brush on a little paint, lay the leaf paint side down, cover it with scrap paper and rub. One white leaf print on dark green paper is the whole method. A Philadelphia naturalist is reported to have printed straight from leaves in about 1730.
Leaves painting ideas for a real leaf
Painting on the surface of a dry leaf is a small craft of its own. Press the leaf flat until it is dry, then use acrylic with very little water. Dark pressed leaf with every vein followed in gold follows what is there; Maple leaf turned upside down into a fox face ignores it.
The easy ones sit under More filters, Level: 22 prints, flat shapes and single washes.
Questions and answers
Which leaf painting ideas on paper need no brush skills?
The prints. Row of five prints from one leaf, fading as they go loads the leaf once and presses it five times. One leaf printed along a curve, red through purple wipes the leaf between colors.
Are there leaf painting ideas for toddlers?
Leaf prints suit small hands: an adult brushes the paint on, and the child presses the leaf down and peels it off. Leaf print turned into a fish with a dot eye and a tail gives the print a second life.
How do I paint leaf veins in watercolor?
Three ways are on the list: lift them out of a wet wash with a damp brush, draw them first in white wax crayon so the wash skips them, or leave a hair of bare paper between panels of color.
Which leaves have the best shapes to paint?
Most maple leaves are palmate, like an open hand. Ginkgo leaves are fans that turn deep yellow in fall. Oak leaves often have lobed edges, and a monstera leaf has natural holes. Each has a picture here.