Have a paint night at home! This step by step acrylic painting tutorial will help you create a moonlit night monochromatic painting. This is an art tutorial for beginners, intermediate or even advanced painters. You can adapt this lesson for many party or group environments and this would make a great high school or middle school painting lesson. I’ve even taught this to fifth graders! Try this out for a paint night at home, a painting date night, or any group or classroom setting.
Painting Materials
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Moonlit Night Monochromatic Painting Step by Step
This is such a simple artwork that can be done with any color scheme. I mix my tints (base color mixed with white) in one section of my palette and add a tiny bit of black (or your base color) for each swirl around the moon. I paint in a circular motion, but you could have a textured sky or add clouds.
After the sky is done I splatter paint the background for stars or a snowy effect. Another option is to use the handle of your brush to dot in a more controlled look.
The branches can be challenging, so definitely look at images you like. I google “branches clip art black and white” for inspiration. I like to sketch them in pencil first so I can make changes. It’s also a good idea to practice painting your branch style on a seperate piece of paper.
I use my smallest pointiest brush to paint my branches. This is when your painting really comes to life!
Classroom Setting
This post breaks down the technique into a classroom ready lesson. I did this with FIFTH GRADERS!!! and they always turned out stunning. A true parent and student favorite! I would love to teach this again to upper level students and see how they compared.
