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How to Paint Easy Leaves & Vines

July 28, 2011 By Colleen Jorgenson 5 Comments

paint-leaves-and-vines-7

After I posted the tray ceiling painting the other day, thousands upon thousands of emails poured in, wanting to know how to paint those red & gold leaves.

Okay, maybe it was hundreds.

Alright, nobody actually wrote an email and asked how to paint them but I’m sure it’s just because they were afraid that they’d have to climb a ladder a zillion times and they didn’t want a bigger booty.

I’m here to tell you that these simple leaves can be painted anywhere. A wall, a table . . . maybe even a curtain? Why not? All you need is two colors of paint and a brush or two.

Here’s the simple painting tutorial –

paint-leaves-and-vines-1

Start with a simple ‘S’ scroll on it’s side.

paint-leaves-and-vines-1

See what I mean? Just a little ‘s’.

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Next, add your leaves with gold paint. Gold as in yellow, not gold as in metallic.

Although that’d be really pretty too but you get more shading with regular yellow-gold.

paint-leaves-and-vines-3

Now add some red accents – either on the tip or the base.

paint-leaves-and-vines-4

I’ll admit, this scared me a bit when I first tried it on the ceiling. But the more leaves I accented – and then stepped back to take a look – the more I liked it.

paint-leaves-and-vines-5

It doesn’t take a ton of red to make an impact.

 

paint-leaves-and-vines-8

Now, here’s where it gets even scarier, but you gotta just trust yourself and go for it. You’re gonna connect the leaves to the vine – loosely, curvy, and RANDOMLY.

That’s the hard part, folks. Being random. The goal is just to connect the vein of the leave to the vine.

Actually, now that I think about it, you don’t have to do all the extra vein curlicues. You could just take the vein straight to the vine.

paint-leaves-and-vines-7

But that’d be kinda boring, dontcha think?

Just give it a try – with the red and the curlicues. Then stand back and look at your painting from a few feet away.

Tell me it isn’t cute.

Now, you don’t have to just use ‘S’ scrolls.

paint-leaves-and-vines-12

You can also start with a ‘C’.

paint-leaves-and-vines-9

See the ‘C’?

(sorry. I couldn’t resist.)

paint-leaves-and-vines-10

Same thing. Scroll, then leaves, then curlicues.

paint-leaves-and-vines-11

Only this was just one color. One!

Simple, quick, and will work with absolutely any color.

If you aren’t comfortable with drawing your own scrolls and placing the leaves, I made patterns for you – Leaves and Vine Patterns. You can download them as PDF docs via Google, then enlarge them to the size you want.

But seriously, try it freehand first. I think you’ll surprise yourself.

Filed Under: How To & PIY, patterns, PIY

Comments

  1. Diane says

    February 12, 2016 at 10:38 pm

    Hi Colleen! So glad I found your quick, easy and oh-so-pretty leafy vine tutorial. I’m just learning, this looks super-easy, so here I go to the craft room to give it a go! Thanks so much.

    Reply
  2. Avajes says

    August 6, 2023 at 3:03 am

    Just found this tutorial, very simple, versatile, easy, thank you for the process breakdown!

    Reply
    • Colleen says

      August 8, 2023 at 9:07 am

      You are so welcome!

      Reply
  3. Sunny says

    March 11, 2024 at 11:20 am

    Great tutorial! But how do i get that perfect leaf shape? (Especially since I’m painting an attic trap door, hanging on a diagonal down from the ceiling……?)

    Reply
    • Colleen says

      March 13, 2024 at 6:55 am

      It’s always tough painting at that angle. You might want to get a leaf stencil to get you started. Good luck!

      Reply

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    About Me

    Hi there! I'm Colleen, a self-taught artist, writer and blogger, among other things. You don't get to be old enough to order off the Denny's senior menu without accomplishing a few things in life. Read More…

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