PAINTING BIRCH TREES THAT GLOW · FOR OIL AND ACRYLIC LANDSCAPE PAINTERS
Paint Birch Trees That Glow and Make People Stop and Look Twice
Tim Packer’s step-by-step course on painting birch trees full of dramatic, believable light: sunlit bark that glows against shadowed forest, light streaming through the trees, and trunks that burst with colour. 6 Step-by-Step Painting Tutorial Videos, in oils or acrylics.
Enroll in the Masterclass · $6930-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee · Live group Zoom call with Tim included · Lifetime access
25+ Years
As a professional Canadian landscape painter
6,000+
Students taught
1,000+
Paintings Sold
130,000+
Social Media Followers
"Not every great artist is a great teacher, but Tim's instruction is exceptional, broken down into bite-sized, easy-to-digest modules with zero flapping about." Martha A
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Why some paintings glow, and most fall flat
There's a huge difference between painting a forest and creating the illusion of light. When you look at a beautiful backlit forest, what draws you in is the light. The trees are simply the vehicle that reveals it. Once you understand value, temperature, contrast, edges and atmosphere, you can transform the way you paint landscapes.
If your paintings look like flat, rigid copies of the photo:
You'll learn how to stop copying the camera and start accurately portraying the light, so your work is vibrant and full of colour.
If your sun turns muddy or garish:
Discover how to paint brilliant colour that stays clean, and use darks and surrounding values to make your light look even brighter.
If Your birch trunks look like dull white stripes:
You'll paint the reflected colour that shows up on white bark, and watch the trees burst with light.
If your forest scenes feel flat and confusing.
I'll show how to use colour contrast, edge control and negative painting to send sunlight streaming through the trees.
If you think you need a breathtaking photo to start.
You can turn the grey, overcast photos already on your phone into paintings filled with dramatic light.
If people say "that's nice" and walk on.
I'll have you creating paintings that make people stop, look twice, and say "I want this in my home."
WHAT'S INSIDE
Everything inside Painting Birch Trees That Glow
A deep dive into the subject that has defined Tim's career: Forests that glow with light and colour.
6 Complete Step-by-Step Video Painting Tutorials in Water Soluble Oils and Acrylic
Full start-to-finish video tutorials of 6 birch forest scenes built on reflected colour, negative painting, light filtering through evergreens and brilliant foliage. 5 completed in water soluble oils and 1 completed entirely in acrylics. The acrylic tutorial features a full separate module that explains the differences between oil and acrylic painting, so acrylic painters can apply the same process to the water soluble oil tutorials.
Transforming Dull Reference Photos
Discover how to edit an overcast photo, decide where the light comes from, change values and colour, and choose what stays and what goes.
Supporting lessons
Materials, preparation, colour, light and painting techniques: the foundations behind every tutorial.
Live group Zoom call with Tim
Ask anything about painting or the business of being an artist. These calls often run four to five hours.
HOW IT WORKS
From flat to glowing in four steps
1
Understand how light works
Short lessons on value, temperature, contrast, edges and atmosphere.
2
Paint along, step by step
Start with fairly simple subjects and build to complex paintings that bring it all together.
3
Adapt it to your medium
Acrylic painter? Use the acrylic modules to translate every technique to the oil tutorials.
4
Apply it to your own photos
Take even a dull reference photo, redesign the light, and create a painting that is yours.
This isn't about copying the paintings Tim demonstrates. Once you understand why the light works, you can apply those principles to your own subjects, from your own photographs.
The painting that sold right away
"For years I avoided painting birch trees, because mine just looked dull and flat. Then a client challenged me: birch trees are an iconic part of the Canadian landscape, and you're a Canadian landscape painter. You'd better figure this out."
"So I spent an entire winter trying different things. The secret wasn't painting them white. It was painting all of the reflected colour that shows up on that white bark. The very first painting I created using that approach sold right away, and my birch paintings have been some of my most popular ever since."
Student Testimonials
Liz G
Tim has a very pleasant voice and teaching style. I enjoyed the challenges of this course and did some of the paintings more than once because I wanted to improve them. Aside from the painting lessons, I also enjoyed some of Tim's philosophical lessons about practicing and learning different techniques in order to help you grow as an artist.
Paula B
My biggest takeaway from this course was learning the importance of practice, process and product modes. I was in product mode for a number of years and then stalled. After taking a long break from painting, Tim's course taught me that going back to practice and process modes is essential for moving forward into a successful product mode. So I am giving myself the time to move through these modes, and I am enjoying it. And when I fail at a project, because of Tim's advice, I remind myself what I have learned from that project, and how to do better in the next one. P.S., Because of this course, I painted my first sunset, and loved how it popped off the canvas. Thank you Tim
Noreen M
I have completed a few of Tim's courses and have learned more from them than any other artist's. His instructional technique explains the what & why behind what he is teaching and the online courses give me the flexibility to learn at my own pace. Tim's courses have given me the basic foundational skills I required to improve my art. Because of this, my art work has been in several juried shows and they consistently sell. I highly recommend anyone considering looking at improving their art skills to join Tim's courses. Thanks Tim!
Vivian D
This was just so much fun to watch and I can’t wait to try it with my acrylic paints. I was looking into buying oils but gosh, I already have all these acrylics and I’ve been painting in acrylics for a while so I’m gonna give that a go. This is so different than the other class I’m taking where they use giant sloppy brush strokes. Thanks for sharing your secrets. I am enjoying your classes.
Cynthia R
I genuinely appreciate watching a Master like you, figuring out Acrylics as I am. I too haven't touched them in years, but I painted watercolour - which also stays wet for a long time. That's my favourite thing about painting; I am constantly learning and figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
Maria K
Thank you for showing this. I painted a similar sky a few months ago, there have been some spectacular skies in the UK, but didn't like the results. I wasn't sure how to bring it back and you've just demonstrated a good solution, thank you
Enroll in the Painting the Light Masterclass
You get:
- The complete Painting Birch Trees That Glow course
- New: Start-to-finish acrylic painting module
- New: transforming dull reference photos
- 6 Total Step-by-Step Painting Tutorial Videos
- Supporting lessons on materials, preparation, colour, light and technique
- A live group Zoom call with Tim
- 10+ hours of video with lifetime access
$69
Take your glow beyond the forest
Birch trees teach you how to make light shine through a painting, but the most dramatic light of all happens at sunrise and sunset. Capturing glowing skies and their reflections on water has been at the heart of Tim’s work for 20 years. My Fire and Water Painting Tutorial Bundle has been designed to guide you step by step through 6 sunrise and sunset paintings, so you can bring that same glow to every sky you paint.
When you enrol, you can add the complete Fire and Water bundle for $49 (regularly $564).
30-day, no-questions-asked guarantee
Go through the course, watch the lessons, try the techniques. If you don't feel you've been given far more value than you paid for, send Tim an email and he'll happily refund your money.
Questions painters ask before enrolling
I paint in acrylics. Will this work for me?
I use traditional oils, not water-soluble oils. Does that matter?
Is this just watching someone paint in silence?
Will this help me sell my paintings?
How long do I have access?
When is the live Zoom call?
What if it isn't for me?
30-day money-back guarantee · Lifetime access
