Demonstration
Family Tree

Creating a Memory

For this project, you’ll create a mixed-media tree that tells the story of your own family. You’ll use acrylic paint for the tree and a combination of old letters, children’s drawings, scrap paper and other memorabilia for the leaves. When you’re finished, you’ll carve a special message for your family into a heart on the tree’s trunk and add birds to symbolize everyone in the household. If you like this project, you can even make it much larger and place it above the hearth in your living room. To avoid tears (if you have young children), make sure to photocopy their drawings rather than using the originals!

STEP 1: Prepare the Surface Background

Coat an 8" × 10" (20cm × 25cm) wood panel with clear gesso using a ³⁄₄" (19mm) flat. Allow it to dry completely, and then sand it smooth with fine-grit sandpaper.

Use Neutral Gray mixed with Titanium White for the ground and a mixture of Titanium White and Naples Yellow for the sky. Apply with a 1" (25mm) flat. Let it dry.

STEP 2: Draw a Tree Trunk and Branches

While the background is drying, trace an outline of the wood panel in a sketchbook. Draw just a tree trunk and branches, being careful to leave room for punched-out leaves that you’ll collage on later. Make sure your tree trunk is wide enough to fit a heart with words or initials inside, too.

STEP 3: Draw a Birdcage and Birds

From one branch of the tree, sketch in an open birdcage. Add as many birds in the cage as you’d like to represent the “parents” of the family.

STEP 4: Trace the Drawing

Place the drawing face down on a light box or against a sunny window. Cover it with tracing paper, and trace the outlines of your sketch with a pencil.

STEP 5: Transfer the Drawing

Turn the tracing over and position it on top of the background (make sure the paint is completely dry!). The tree’s base should rest about ³⁄₄" (6mm) into the gray ground. Once you’re happy with the tree’s position, trace the lines one final time with a pencil.

STEP 6: Reveal the Transfer

Lift the tracing paper. You will see an outline of your tree and birdcage on the wood support.

STEP 7: Paint the Tree

Paint the trunk and branches of the tree with Van Dyke Brown using a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat and a no. ²⁰⁄₀ liner for the tapering smaller branches.

STEP 8: Punch Out Leaf Shapes

While the tree is drying, use a leaf punch to punch out interesting images from your collection of children’s drawings, love letters and patterned paper. Holding hands and smiling faces look adorable in leaf shapes!

STEP 9: Glue on the Leaf Shapes

Glue the leaf shapes down one at a time using either a glue stick or glue pen. To balance the composition, include interesting words on both sides of the tree and make sure you have enough color scattered throughout.

STEP 10: Press the Leaf Shapes in Place

When all the leaves are glued on, cover the piece with wax paper and roll a brayer across the painting to fix them securely in place.

STEP 11: Paint the Green Leaves

Using a no. 00 round, paint in small green leaves to fill out the tree using Phthalo Green (Yellow Shade) mixed with Titanium White.

STEP 12: Paint the Bark Pattern

Using Red Oxide and a no. ²⁰⁄₀ liner, paint a bark pattern onto the tree trunk and up the thicker branches.

STEP 13: Paint the Flowers and Bird “Children”

Using no. ²⁰⁄₀ liner or no. 00 round, add flowers to the foreground of the painting. To make the painting more representative of your family, use pencil to sketch in additional birds for your children, grandchildren or beloved pets. These birds can be anywhere in the painting—I put mine on the flowers, but your birds might be more adventurous or mischievous!

STEP 14: Color the Bird Family

Use a blue gel pen to add color to your bird family. I included two bluebirds for my painting because I have two children, but, of course, there are as many variations of family trees as there are families!

STEP 15: Draw or Trace a Heart

Either free-draw a heart onto the center of the tree trunk, or use a tracing paper template to position it just right before committing. Outline the tracing paper in pencil once you’re happy with the placement.

STEP 16: Paint the Heart Black

Fill in the heart with Bone Black paint using a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat.

STEP 17: Paint the Heart White and Carve Initials

Once the black paint is dry, paint a layer of Titanium White over it with a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat. Before it dries, grab your needle-pointed tool and carve into the heart. You can write “you and me” like I did or personalize it with initials. The pointy tool is much easier to control than a paintbrush, so you can even write in script or fancy lettering if you’d like.

STEP 18: Add Red Details

Use a red paint marker to outline the heart and draw an arrow through it. This gives a touch more color to your tree trunk and really focuses attention on the heart.

STEP 19: Mix Gold Paint

Create a “gilded cage” for your bird(s). Spray a bit of gold paint onto your palette paper to get a good consistency. You want a translucent gold, so you may need to add water or acrylic gloss medium if it’s too thick.

STEP 20: Paint the Birdcage

Use a no. 2 round to add the gold paint to the inside of the birdcage (leave the birds blue).

STEP 21: Outline the Shapes

Use a black paint marker (or a liner brush and Bone Black paint) to outline the leaves of your tree, birdcage, birds and flowers.

STEP 22: Paint a Sun

Paint a sun in the corner of the painting with Cadmium Orange and Cadmium Yellow using a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat.

STEP 23: Add Wild Grasses

Add wild grasses to the foreground using turquoise and green gel pens.

STEP 24: Add a Red Heart

Finally, use a red paint marker to add a little red heart inside the birdcage to emphasize the loving message of the painting.

Tell the Story

What is the story of your family tree painting? Who are the birds inside the cage? Where did you put the bird “children” and what does this say about their personalities? What kind of symbolism did your children’s drawings and love letters add to the painting? How could you adapt this family tree project to make it into a wedding or housewarming gift?

I repurposed old letters in this painting, but I made them into a story about the magic of letter-writing and how a series of letters between two people takes on a life of its own. I used beeswax to collage my letters—and even their stamps—into the painting. Then, just like in Family Tree, I carved more writing into the surface with my metal stylus.