Use watercolors and a black watercolor resist medium to create colorful winter tree art. Make this gorgeous winter tree painting today!
Create winter tree art with watercolors and a black resist medium for a fun and easy winter silhouette art project idea for kids and adults!
Working with a black resist medium and watercolor paints is a process-oriented way for children to practice working with watercolors while they learn about color mixing and the science of resist mediums.
Try painting a watercolor winter tree silhouette with children at home or in the classroom.
Related: Best Winter Art Projects
Related: Snowy Alpine Tree Watercolor Resist Art
How to Make A Winter Tree Silhouette with a Black Resist Medium
Try this gorgeous winter tree silhouette watercolor art project with the kids!
Creating winter tree silhouette art with watercolors and a black resist medium is a fun and easy art project idea for kids and adults!
We like to spend one-day using black glue or a black pastel to draw winter trees, and another day to paint them.
This will allow time for the black glue to dry when it is used as the resist medium, and, gives children an opportunity to spend time creating two types of art. A winter tree silhouette on the first day, and a color-filled watercolor painting on the second.
Scroll down for the winter tree art supply list and the step by step directions for this winter art painting idea
Related: Fun Art and Craft Ideas for Kids
Winter Tree Art Project Supplies
- White glue and Black acrylic paint, or, black oil pastel, or, crayon
- Watercolor paper or cardstock (heavyweight works best)
- Stockmar watercolors OR watercolor paint pallet OR liquid watercolors
- 3/4 – 1 1/2 inch flat wash watercolor brush
- or flat wash watercolor brush set
- FREE Winter Tree Art Template (Optional)
Related: The Best Art Supplies for Kids and Why Young Artists Should Use Them
Related: Art & Science: Experiment with Watercolor Resist Mediums
Winter Tree Silhouette Art Project Step by Step Directions
First, decide which black resist medium to use to make this winter tree art project; black glue, black oil pastel, or black crayon.
My daughter and I used black glue as the resist medium for the winter tree silhouettes pictured. You can see her beautiful work in the video below!
Skip step 1 if you choose to use black oil pastel or crayon to make a winter tree silhouette.
Step 1 – Make Black Glue (optional)
Skip this step if you will be using black oil pastel or crayon to draw winter tree silhouettes.
How to make Black Glue:
Making black glue is simple and does not need to be measured. All you need to do is mix white glue with black acrylic paint to make black glue. We make our black glue by adding both ingredients to an old small white glue bottle. Just shake it up to mix, and squeeze it out to use!
We are constantly adding a mixture of white glue and black acrylic paint to our “black glue bottle” to make more for all of the black glue art projects we have created.
A little black paint goes a long way so you don’t need much. We never measure and it always turns out fine!
You do not need to make “black glue” look black. Because white glue dries clear, black glue will often appear grey until it is completely dry.
Step 2 – Draw a Winter Tree Silhouette
Use our FREE winter tree clipart or draw a winter tree on watercolor paper or heavyweight cardstock.
If you choose to draw your own winter tree silhouette, use a pencil to draw the winter tree art first and then trace it with a black resist medium, or, use the black resist medium to draw the winter tree silhouette directly onto the paper.
Black glue winter tree silhouette art will need to dry overnight, while black pastel or crayon can be painted over right away. Black glue will not resist watercolor paint unless it is completely dry.
We like to spend one-day making winter tree silhouettes and another day painting them to give children plenty of time to experience each type of art process.
Step 3 – Paint Winter Tree Art
Invite children to use watercolors to paint the winter trees that they made with a black resist medium.
Allow your children to use and paint with any color in order to give them an opportunity to learn about and experience color. Working with watercolors is a process-oriented way for children to learn about color mixing in art.
For more information check out wet-on-wet watercolor painting.
Related: Heart Art Projects
Winter Tree Silhouette Painting Idea Video Tutorial
Play the video below to see my daughter at work on the winter tree painting pictured in this post!
Related: Watercolor Surprise Heart Art Painting Ideas
More Black Glue Watercolor Resist Art Projects for Kids
Head on over to have a look at all of the other watercolor black glue resist art projects we have created for even more black glue and watercolor paint fun!
- Black Glue Rose Watercolor Resist Art Project
- Starfish Black Glue Watercolor Art Project
- Under the Sea Black Glue Art Projects
- Fall Leaves Black Glue Watercolor Resist Art
Silhouette Winter Tree Painting Idea
We hope you enjoy painting winter trees with your children!
Don’t forget to pop over to have a look at this amazing collection of winter art projects and painting ideas.
You may also like to have a look at this cute collection of Valentine’s Day art projects.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
More Art Projects for Kids
- Easter Art Ideas for Kids
- The Best Fall Art Projects for Kids
- Halloween Art Projects Kids LOVE!
- Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Painting for Kids
- Best Christmas Art Projects for Kids
The One Essential Tool You Need To Keep You and the Kids Happy!
Subscribe to the Rhythms of Play community newsletter to connect with your children, and find the FREEDOM to do the things you LOVE!
Debbie Denyer - Squidgydoodle says
atWhat a great effect! I’ve not tried making black glue before. I’ll give it a try.
nell says
atYay! I’m so glad you’ve been inspired to try black glue resist art! It’s really easy to make, the problem I see more often than not is that people think they need to make the glue look black and end up using too much acrylic paint, and this can add black to your watercolor painting if you use a lot of water. A little black acrylic paint in a white glue bottle, well shaken, goes a long way! Enjoy!