HOW to WATERCOLOR a WHIMSICAL Christmas Tree in 5 MINUTES!!

Who doesn't LOVE a whimsical christmas tree?!

One of my friends over in the Awesome Artist Facebook community didn't believe me when I told her she could create this  watercolor Christmas card in just 5 minutes , so I had to do a video to prove her wrong :)

Even if you've never even tried watercolor before, you absolutely CAN do this whimsical tree. It's perfect for beginners!!

If you don't celebrate Christmas, stop the lesson @ 6:25 and you'll have a cute pine tree watercolor painting!

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support! 

For this SUPER EASY watercolor Christmas tree project, I decided to try out a new little travel set of watercolors by Field Artist. This set comes with THE CUTEST, space saving travel watercolor brush that screws together. 

​I chose to paint our little tree on one of my adorable 4x6 watercolor postcards by Winsor Newton. 

If you've never played with watercolors before (as an adult!), this is THE EASIEST watercolor project for beginners that you can probably find!

I'm keeping things very simple and using a green straight from my palette. Watch the video as I demonstrate an easy watercolor technique you can try at home with a flick of your brush to make the tree branches.  

Before I move on to the next step- I take a minute to pause and dry my painting with a hair dryer.

I find this works SO much better than a heat gun, because I can control the temperature of the heat (believe it or not- some supplies can melt under the heat gun!). Also- the air flow I get from my hair dryer generates a lot of power- which means my paper is dry SUPER FAST! If you know me - FAST is something I need in my life;) 

If you want, you can choose to add a secondary layer of green branches on top of what's already been done for a little added dimension, or just leave it as is! If you choose to do a second layer of green- take care if you're a watercolor newbie, becuase even a little water will reactive your first layer of watercolor, so things could move around on you. If you don't want this to happen, try to use less water on your brush when you wet it before tapping into your second shade of green.  

When this second, optional layer is totally dry as well, I add in a few cute spots of color as ornaments, along with a teensy, yellow star on top. Then it's time to hit it with the hair dryer one more time!

After the ornaments are fully dry, I pulled out one of my fountain pens to doodle around on my tree for added decoration.

I'm using a fountain pen filled with ink for the next part, but you can use a pen, a pencil - anything you're in the mood for and already have lying around at home! 

​And that's it!! I know! Can you believe it? Told ya it was a quickie, 5 minute watercolor project! So easy if you love to send a little something handmade in the mail at Christmas time for cards or presents. 

Have fun painting!! I wish you a MERRY EVERYTHING & a Happy New Year!!