How to Hand Paint Flowers

Painting watercolor flowers.

Painting flowers is an art form that can be practiced for a lifetime and continue to give pleasure both to the painter and to those who receive paintings as gifts. There are many types of paints and styles of painting. Painting watercolor flowers is an inexpensive and ideal form for beginners because it dries fast and the process is not overwhelming.

Things You'll Need

• Paints (a beginner tube set will work fine) Brush (flat, ¼" watercolor brush) Cold press 140# watercolor paper Cup of water Saucer Paper towel Pencil and eraser Flower to use as a model

Instructions

How To Paint Flowers By Hand

1. 

   Assemble your painting set. Place your flower so you can see it well.

2. 

   Lightly outline your flower leaves, stems and petals with pencil lines. Squirt a small amount of each paint color around the rim of your saucer. The colors should be about a half-inch apart. Wet your brush in the cup of water. Hold your paper towel in your other hand or keep it nearby. Hold your brush lightly and draw with the paint, following the line of your first petal from the tip inward.

3. 

   Flow the watercolor along the paper. Here, I started with a reddish-orange color since my flower goes from red to yellow. I want to move quickly so that my colors flow together when I add more of the yellow on my second stroke.

4. 

   Wet your brush but don't make it soppy. Paint your second color and complete your petal so that one side is lighter than the other. Watercolors tend to blend as long as they're wet.

5. 

   Paint each petal, starting from the darkest area and moving toward the lightest. Remember that there is no white in watercolor: your white is the paper. White watercolor paint is for blending and mixing.

6. 

   Look closely at your real flower. Notice how the color falls and where the shadows are. As you paint you will begin to see the flower differently. It will transform from a thought in your mind to a composition of light, dark and shades.

7. 

   Paint the stamen (the little tubular bulbous-topped stems inside your flower). I like to do this about halfway through the painting, so that I can "load up" the light color of the stamen. Loading means the paint is thick, sits high on the paper and will dry slowly. I want to be able to paint around the stamen with only a little mixing.

8. 

   Continue painting petals until your flower is complete. Clean your brush, then dampen it and mix your browns and greens. When the shade looks right, paint your leaves.

9. 

   Clean your brush. Wet it, mix your colors (green and yellow) and paint the buds.

10. Sit back and observe your painting. Allow yourself to dip into other colors to add what you think you see. A bit of brown or green or even blue. Maybe a hint of pink or bright hot yellow. You have painted a flower by hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, you can't do this wrong. The colors are an expression. Painting with watercolor is about relaxing into that Zen space where expression is organic. Starting with a pencil allows for a sense of control that should loosen as you paint.

• Good paints and supplies are expensive. Invest in good brushes and learn to keep them in good condition.