The German folk painting technique called Bauernmalerei is a traditional folk art that can be replicated using just a few templates and simple brush strokes. It reminds me of my childhood in Germany and watching my mother paint. Let me show you how you can paint your own easy folk art for beginners.
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Easy to make folk art called Bauernmalerei with flowers Pictures of easy and drawn folk art in our kitchen
Make an easy folk art of your own called Bauernmalerei using flowers.
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My mother grew up in Bavaria, Germany in the 70s and 80s, and she had a hobby of painting that she started in the early 70s. It’s called “Bauernmalerei.” If you’re wondering what that means, “Bauern” means farmers, and “Malerei” means drawing. It’s a traditional German primitive painting technique in the folk style. German Bauernmalerei saw a surge in popularity in the 70s, so it wasn’t just my mother who was into it. This folk art style is supposed to have originated in the Bavarian Alps, which is why some people here in the US call it “Bavarian Folk Art.” However, it was definitely perfected throughout the Austrian and Swiss Alps as well.
This folk art spread throughout Europe and I have seen many similar variations in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
These decorations typically feature floral and fruit motifs, as well as birds and other animals painted in bright colours on wooden or even metal objects such as furniture (Bauernmöbel), plates, boxes and metal milk jugs. The popularity of Bauernmalerei (just like macramé) in the 1970s was partly due to the rise of the hippie movement and a renewed interest in traditional crafts and folk art. I feel that this type of painting technique is on the rise again. I own several pieces of clothing with floral designs like this.
Although I never liked this art as a child, I have recently found myself increasingly drawn to it again, and have put it on my list to try for myself. It has been a long time since I have drawn anything.
Every time I came home, I would look for an old book about Bauernmalerei in thrift stores but couldn’t find it. I recently found a book here in the US on Etsy and bought it immediately.
Books like this are a great source of inspiration and also come with patterns you can use. You can see the similarities between the flowers and shapes used in the pattern I drew.
Beautiful pieces of folk art are found on Etsy or other retailers.
I’ve been seeing more and more pieces like this for sale on retailers like Etsy or even big box retailers like World Market and Target. I love that these items inspire me and then I make my own. If you’d rather buy something ready-made, check out the things I found below.
Folk art supplies
Small artist brushes of various sizes, primer (I used a water-based primer from Kilz), acrylic paint or regular craft paint (I used this FolkArt paint set), painter’s tape, pencil, white carbon transfer paper, a folk art style design or template if you don’t want to hand-draw your design (this is the style I used and here are some good sites that offer more designs: ) A wooden cutting board, mine was in the sale section at Joann’s Fabric for $1.50 (or candlesticks, boxes, small wooden crates, flower pots, boxes, wooden hangers, wooden mugs, or many other items of your choice)
For the background, I used leftover dark green paint from my son’s dark green bedroom walls as the base color for the cutting board. This green sometimes looks black, and other times when the sun shines on it, it looks much lighter.
Tutorial video
I’ve made a video for you so you can better see what I did. If it doesn’t load for you, you can also watch it on my YouTube channel instead.
Step by step drawing guide instructions
When you paint this type of folk art (or any other type of folk art), it’s not about making the artwork look realistic, which is why it’s so easy. It’s about layering different shades of the same color with simple brush strokes. So don’t overthink it.
You can also see that my mother painted the same type of flower in a slightly different way on her large metal milk jug.
Prepare and draw your object.
It’s always a good idea to prime the pieces before painting. Especially in this case, the wood was very porous and it was important to prime it first. When painting something with a dark paint color, it’s always best to use a gray tinted primer, but I only used this one and it worked well too.
After the base coat had dried, I applied two coats of dark green paint using a wide brush and let it dry completely.
Folk art style design transfer
I measured the pattern design I chose to fit my cutting board and printed it out. I then cut it out and taped it to the center of the cutting board with painter’s tape. Before moving on to the next step, I also placed a piece of white carbon transfer paper under the pattern copy.
Next, I used a sharp pencil to trace the pattern, then printed the pattern onto the cutting board using carbon transfer paper. I removed the copy paper and transferred it to reveal the transferred design.
Tip: You can find patterns on Google and Pinterest. There are many patterns that can be easily measured and printed. The resolution doesn’t have to be clear and may be blurry because you just need the design to trace.
folk art design drawing
This part of the project could definitely be explained better in my video, but I’ll try to explain it here in words and pictures as well. I also recommend practicing on a piece of paper beforehand the way I did as well. (I like this black piece of paper for this purpose.)
Draw daisies
I started with the small daisies because they were the easiest. You can see the size of brush I used. It is very important to use the right size brush. My brush set has all the brushes in the right size and they are great quality too.
For the white daisy petals, simply start at the top of the flower petal and bring the brush up towards the middle to create the tip of the petal. Then put a dot of yellow paint in the middle.
leaf coating
My FolkArt craft color set has different shades of green, so I started with the darkest color and filled in the leaf shapes. As you can see, the color is very similar to the base color of the painting, but that’s okay.
You don’t necessarily have to wait for the paint to dry completely because it’s okay to mix different shades of paint. So do whatever you like. I used three different shades of green with a little bit of white added to the last shade as you can see in the third image. Just repeat the same brush strokes as you did with the daisy petal shapes.
draw roses
The central round flower buds resemble the Tolzer rose and are always red or reddish pink. Just focus on the roses when looking at what I am doing. I moved from one flower to the next while letting some of the paint dry. The red did not cover well and I had to paint more than one coat which is why I wanted the rose paint to dry every now and then.
The FolkArt color set also has several shades of red. I started with a darker red to draw the upper circles of the rose first. I then used a lighter red to draw the body shape of the rose.
I mixed a little white with bright red and then applied the same type of brush strokes to the rose shape as I did with the daisies and leaves.
To finish off the roses, I used white paint to add some small white dots to the dark red circular top of the rose.
draw lily
The same painting technique is used for the lily shapes as well. I started with a dark blue and then applied two layers of light blue over it using the same type of brush strokes. Once you do this a few times, you’ll really get the hang of it.
Draw small flower buds
All that’s left is to paint the little flower buds for this particular pattern. I used yellow and brown with the same type of brush strokes.
Add antique paint (optional)
When my mother finished her projects, she would always add antique brown paint to the finished painted pattern to make it look old. I chose not to do that in this case because I liked the look of it and I didn’t want it to look dirty.
Here are some final glazes you can use if you don’t want to mix your own:
The easiest way to mix your own paint is to mix water with a little brown paint to create dirty water and wipe it onto your project with a cloth. Or you can use brown wax on your project instead of paint.
I also painted a pumpkin like this for fall and plan to paint some Christmas decorations as well. It was easier to show you the process on a flat cutting board. I will add photos here once I finish these projects.
There were some other flower designs in the book and I decided to use them. I also added black to the leaves.
Related: You might also be interested in my tutorial on how to paint faux clay pumpkins.
Related: I have several other DIY projects in my kitchen, like the DIY kitchen utensil rack I built behind the stove. Speaking of the stove, check out my DIY stove renovation and other appliances covered in vinyl to match the color of the lower cabinets.
How to fix peeling kitchen cabinets to make them look like new. My cabinets are 24 years old, and I even figured out a way to make my own drawer handles to fit into any existing openings for cheap! How to install marble backsplashes that have held up great by the way.
Or how about a macrame towel holder on the stove handle for extra charm.
On the other side of the kitchen I made a no-sew curtain under the sink.
If you’re new to my blog, you may not know the dining area next to the kitchen island where I recently added 4 new (old) chairs for $25 from Facebook Marketplace and wrote a blog post about how to fix up a broken chair.
Related: If you like different folk arts, you might also like my Mexican Christmas decorations. The painting style and technique can be applied to the same project as well.
Choos,
