Birch trunks with black notches on a blue groundWhite, black, cobalt. Paint white stripes with a flat brush and flick short black marks in from the edges.
Tree of life with its trunk patterned in stripes and dotsBrown, cream, rust, green. Paint a wide trunk, band it with stripes and dots, and keep the crown plain.
One long canvas with the tree four times acrossBrown, pink, green, orange, white. Space four trunks evenly and move through the year left to right.
Cedar leaning out from a windy cliffOlive, dark green, brown, gray. Pull the boughs to one side with a fan brush held flat.
Evergreens doubled in still waterDark green, teal, white. Tap the trees with a fan brush, then drag their colors straight down below the shore.
Hillside of tiny pines in zigzag strokesGreen, dark green, straw. Zigzag a small flat brush downward once for each tree.
Lone pine tapped in with the corner of a fan brushDark green, black, pale blue. Tap the corner of the fan brush side to side, narrow at the top and wide at the base.
One small fir in a snowy field with a blue shadowWhite, pale blue, dark green. Tap the tree with a fan brush and pull one long blue shadow to the side.
Pine printed with the edge of a card, boughs slanting downForest green, white. Dip a card edge in paint, print the trunk, then short slanting boughs down both sides.
Pine trunks at dusk with pink sky between themPink, violet, black green. Blend the sky first and paint the trunks and boughs dark over it.
Row of firs along a misty lake shoreBlue green, gray, white. Tap each fir with a fan brush and drag thin white across their feet for the mist.
Small pine growing from a bare rock islandDark green, gray, slate blue. Paint the rock and flat water first, then tap the pine with the corner of a fan brush.
Spruce with boughs bent under snowDark green, white, pale blue. Tap the green boughs first, let them dry and tap white along their upper sides.
Stone pine with a broad flat crown on a thick trunkDark green, olive, red brown. Paint a thick bare trunk and tap a broad flat crown across its top with a fan brush.
Tall pine trunks seen from below, crowns meetingBrown, dark green, sky blue. Run every trunk toward the center and tap the crowns around a patch of sky.
Crowns dabbed with sponge or swab 12
Bottle-trunked baobab with a small dabbed crownTan, brown, olive, pale blue. Paint a wide bottle-shaped trunk and dab a small flat crown with a torn sponge.
Clipped tree of three stacked balls on one stemDark green, lime, brown. Dab three round crowns with a sponge, the biggest at the bottom.
Fall maple dotted with a bundle of cotton swabsRed, orange, gold, brown. Band five cotton swabs together and dot the crown one color at a time.
Hilltop oak with its sunlit side dabbed in goldDark green, yellow green, gold. Dab the whole crown dark and the lit side with a nearly dry sponge.
Lemon tree in a terracotta pot, fruit dotted by swabDark green, yellow, terracotta. Dab a small crown with a sponge and dot the lemons with a cotton swab.
Oak with a wide crown in three greensOlive, green, yellow green, brown. Dab with a torn sponge and let branches show through the gaps.
Olive tree with a twisted trunk and silver-green dabsGray green, sage, brown. Twist the trunk with curved strokes and dab the crown with a nearly dry sponge.
Orchard rows shrinking into the distanceGreen, pink, brown, straw. Dab smaller and paler crowns as each row goes back.
Purple-flowering tree over a carpet of fallen petalsViolet, lilac, brown, green. Dab the crown, then the same colors on the ground beneath it.
Round green tree, crown dabbed dark first then lightDark green, mid green, lime, brown. Dab the crown dark first, then lighter on the side facing the light.
Row of lollipop trees in four bright colorsLime, orange, pink, teal, brown. Press a round sponge once on the top of each straight trunk.
Tree crown made only of swab dots, greens and yellowsThree greens, two yellows, brown. Dot the crown with cotton swabs until the dots just touch.
Bare branches and birch trunks 12
Bare birch grove with its yellow leaves all fallenWhite, black, yellow, gray. Paint bare trunks and dab the fallen leaves around their feet.
Bare branches from left and right that almost touchBlack, pale orange. Paint a flat sky and bring branches in from left and right until they nearly meet.
Bare branches with a dark nest tucked into a forkBrown, black, pale blue. Paint the branches thin and tuck a small dark oval into a fork.
Bare tree in fog, its far branches paler than its trunkGray, white. Paint the trunk mid gray and mix in more white for every branch farther out.
Bare trees arching over a road from both sidesGray, brown, cream. Paint the trunks smaller toward the middle and arch the branches over the road.
Birch trunks with black notches on a blue groundWhite, black, cobalt. Paint white stripes with a flat brush and flick short black marks in from the edges.
First buds as green dots on bare twigsBrown, lime, sky blue. Draw the twigs with a liner brush and dot a bud at every tip.
Gnarled old oak with a black hollow in its trunkBrown, black, olive. Twist the trunk with curved strokes of a flat brush and paint the hollow black.
Leafless oak and its long shadow across a snowfieldDark brown, white, pale blue. Paint the tree with a liner brush and lay its shadow across the snow.
Pollarded willow, a thick trunk with a burst of thin shootsBrown, olive, pale yellow. Paint one thick trunk and pull thin shoots up from its top with a liner brush.
Three bare saplings in a row, each a few liner strokesBlack, pale gray, white. Paint three thin stems with a liner brush and give each four short upward twigs.
Twigs with frost dotted along their upper sidesGray, white. Paint the twigs with a liner brush and dot frost along their upper sides.
Silhouettes against a sky 12
Black tree alone in a flat yellow field under a blue skyYellow, cobalt, black. Paint two flat bands, yellow below and blue above, and one black tree on the line between.
Black tree and a signpost at a crossroads at duskViolet, orange, black. Blend the dusk, then paint the tree, two crossing roads and a signpost in flat black.
Black tree painted over a dry six-band rainbowPale gray, six rainbow colors, black. Paint the arc in six thin bands, let it dry and paint the tree over it in black.
Black tree with a rope swing hanging from one branchCoral, yellow, black. Paint the tree black and the swing as two thin lines and a short bar.
Flat-topped tree in front of a huge orange sunOrange, red, black. Paint the sun as a big disc and spread the crown wide and thin across it.
Line of tall poplars on a dark hilltop at dawnPeach, pale yellow, plum. Paint each tree as one tall narrow shape on a dark ridge line.
Lone tree on a black hill under a striped sunset skyOrange, pink, violet, black. Paint flat stripes of sky and one black hill with a round-crowned tree.
Pines along a ridge under a sky full of starsBlack, navy, white. Dot the stars, then paint the jagged tree line across the bottom.
Thin dark woodland strip beneath towering cumulusPale blue, white, gray, black. Keep the trees to a thin dark strip along the bottom edge.
Tree and its reflection in floodwater at duskViolet, peach, black. Paint the tree, then its twin upside down, broken by two ripples.
Two palm trees leaning together against a pink duskPink, violet, black. Curve the trunks and flick the fronds out with a liner brush.
Windswept tree bent over at sunsetGold, orange, black. Lean the trunk hard and pull every branch the same way.
One tree in four seasons 12
Fall tree with a raked heap of leaves at its footOrange, gold, brown, gray. Dab a thin crown, then the same colors in one mound beside the trunk.
Fall tree, thin crown, a few leaves drifting downOrange, red, gold, brown. Dab the crown thinly and dot single leaves in the air and on the ground.
Four little panels in a row, the tree in a different season on eachBrown, pink, green, orange, pale blue. Paint the same trunk on each panel and change only the crown and ground.
The ground under one trunk through the yearBrown, pink, green, orange, white. Paint four strips of ground beneath the same trunk: petals, grass, leaves, snow.
One branch four times: bud, green leaf, red leaf, frostBrown, lime, green, red, white. Paint the same branch in four strips down the canvas and change only what is on it.
One long canvas with the tree four times acrossBrown, pink, green, orange, white. Space four trunks evenly and move through the year left to right.
Spring orchard and the same orchard in snow, side by sidePink, white, brown, pale blue. Split the canvas and paint the same three trees in both halves.
Spring tree in a haze of pale green with hanging catkinsBrown, lime, pale yellow, sky blue. Paint the branches, dab a thin green haze and pull short catkins down with a liner.
Summer tree in full leaf with a round shadow beneathGreen, dark green, brown, straw. Dab a full crown with a sponge and paint a dark oval on the grass.
Summer tree with a striped hammock in its shadeGreen, dark green, red, white. Dab the crown with a sponge and sling the hammock from the trunk as one curved band.
Winter tree with a feeder on one branch and visiting birdsBlack, white, red, pale gray. Paint the bare branches, hang one feeder and press a round brush once for each bird.
Winter tree with snow along the tops of its branchesBlack, white, pale gray. Paint the branches dark and lay a thin white line on each upper side.
Tree of life 12
Tree of life bearing one fruit in each rainbow colorBrown, green, six rainbow colors. Dab a green crown and dot six round fruits with a cotton swab, red to violet.
Tree of life in a ring, roots mirroring the crownBrown, green, gold. Pencil a circle, paint the crown in the top half and roots of the same shape below.
Tree of life in black and gold with spiral branchesBlack, gold. Paint the trunk, then curl each branch into a spiral with a liner brush.
Tree of life painted gold on navy, stars at the branch tipsNavy, gold, white. Paint the tree in gold on navy and dot one white star at each branch tip with a cotton swab.
Tree of life whose trunk is two strands twined togetherBrown, tan, green. Wind two bands around each other up the trunk and part them into branches.
Tree of life with a different leaf shape on every branchBrown, three greens. Paint the trunk and branches, then give each branch its own leaf: round, pointed, heart or long.
Tree of life with a sun on one side and a moon on the otherGold, silver, navy, brown. Split the ground behind the tree into a day half and a night half.
Tree of life with its trunk patterned in stripes and dotsBrown, cream, rust, green. Paint a wide trunk, band it with stripes and dots, and keep the crown plain.
Tree of life with one leaf color for each person at homeBrown, one color per person. Give each person a color and let each paint leaves on one branch.
Tree of life with songbirds above and rabbits at the rootsBrown, green, blue, tan. Paint the tree, then tuck small animals among the branches and roots.
Tree of life with swab-dot halos in teal and turquoiseBrown, teal, turquoise, white. Dot rings outward from the top of the trunk with a cotton swab.
White tree of life on a round sunset blendYellow, orange, magenta, white. Blend a round sunset, let it dry and paint the tree over it in white.
How it works
A painted tree is one decision: how the leaves go on. These tree art ideas are sorted by it: fan brush or card edge, sponge or cotton swabs, a liner for bare branches, or flat black against a sky.
Read the full guide
Acrylic tree painting ideas, tool by tool
For an evergreen, tap the corner of a fan brush side to side, narrow at the top: Lone pine tapped in with the corner of a fan brush. For a leafy crown, dab dark first and lighter on the lit side. For bare branches, pull thin lines with a liner brush.
One tree, four seasons
One group paints the same tree through the year. One long canvas with the tree four times across fits all four on one canvas, left to right: blossom, full green, orange, then bare with snow.
The easy trees sit under More filters, Level.
No Christmas tree is on this list.
Questions and answers
What are tree of life painting ideas?
Twelve designs of one tree, some with roots, some inside a circle. The tree of life is a motif in many mythologies, religions and philosophies of the world; these are plain designs made up for this list.
Which tree art ideas work without paint?
The silhouettes can be cut from black paper and most of the bare branches drawn in pen: those two groups are mostly flat shapes and lines. The dabbed crowns and fan-brush evergreens need paint.
What is the easiest tree to paint?
Row of lollipop trees in four bright colors: press a round sponge once on the top of each straight trunk. 24 of the 72 carry the easy mark.
How do you paint leaves quickly?
Dab them. A torn sponge, or five cotton swabs banded together, puts down a cluster at each press. Fall maple dotted with a bundle of cotton swabs builds a crown one color at a time.