Create a tropical palm tree in acrylic paint

How to paint a Palm Tree in Dimension Silver Series Acrylics.

Step 1. Drawing in the Palm Tree.

The palm tree drawing consists of a horizon line, 2 lines for the trunk of the palm tree and a rough suggestion for where the fronds lie.

Step 2. The Under-painting.

Squeeze out the Silver Series Rose Madder, Lemon Yellow and Purple onto the traditional Wood Palette. Start with the Yellow and paint in the sky and beach. Then rough in the palm tree and the background trees using a mix of Rose Madder and Yellow and paint the ocean in Purple. It may look strange but this under-painting gives the final piece a beautiful warmth.

Step 3. Applying Sand.

Liberally apply White Dimension Paint to the beach area. Take the canvas off the easel lay, it on the floor and sprinkle sand over the White paint, try to get this as evenly distributed as you can. Allow the paint to dry and brush off the excess sand.

Step 4. Sketching the Palm Tree.

Squeeze out Dimension Permanent Red and Purple on to the pallet, paint in the trunk and the fronds. Use the angle brush to create each leaf emanating from the main frond with short downward strokes. Rough in the background trees as well.

Step 5. Painting the Sky. For the sky, create a mix into a deep well Plastic Palette of 6 parts Cyan to 4 parts white. With this mix, block the sky in with the 75 mm wide brush, get as close to the fronds as you can. Now use the Angle brush to bring the colour into the area between each frond.

Step 6. Painting the Trunk.

To paint the trunk and part of the sand we need to create some earthy tones, to do this use a mix of Umber and Zinc White. Apply the darkest brown on the bottom of the trunk and the lightest on the top to make it look tubular. Then place some lighter stripes on the trunk to suggest light filtering through the fronds.

Step 7. Painting the Ocean.

Paint in the ocean with pure Turquoise, dry brushing into the beach to create a soft transition. Then paint the palm tree shadow in with Ultra Marine, again dry brushing it into the turquoise. To paint the beach, roughly apply Zinc White with a spot of Burnt Umber, and blend this into the sand.

Step 8. Adding the Greens.

Squeeze out some Sap Green and Lemon Yellow Dimension Acrylic. With the Angle brush paint the fronds and the background in. Then lighten the Sap Green with a little Lemon Yellow and apply this to the end of the fronds to suggest a highlight. Mix a darker green with a little Blue and paint in the background foliage.