Watercolour Flowers

What is watercolour?

Watercolour paint is made from coloured pigments and water. It can be mixed and blended in any way making it the perfect medium for trial and error.  Watercolour painting is great for learning and developing artistic skill and it's the perfect paint for beginners and yet also still adored by expert painters.

Watercolour Flowers

Watercolour has long been used to paint nature - especially flowers, landscapes and trees. To recreate your favourite flower, petal, blossom, plant or vine in watercolour it's important to develop your knowledge and understand the paint.

Tips

Play around with the colours before you start.

Outline your work in pencil to achieve more satisfying results until your freehand skills develop.

For more intense colour, apply wet paint to dry paper 

Start with simple flowers first, like roses or poppies, which are both elegant yet
understated and easier to master in watercolour.

Watercolour Roses

Start by painting or sketching a small ‘V’ shape, using this as your centre point and from here create loose curvy lines around the ‘V’ to make petals. Continue this for a few layers from the centre outwards. Clean and reload your brush with a lighter shade to fill in the blank spaces. Don’t be alarmed if your colours mix, this is just fine and will add to the beautiful rosy effect.

Watercolour Poppies

Begin by painting or drawing curly, rounded lines with the occasional openings to create the shape of the poppy. Keeping your poppy wet, clean your brush and add a second colour to paint the inside of the flower – this is where you can break the rules and blend any way you like to create stunning floral effects. Leave the middle white and paint it with a dark shade once the outside of the flower has dried, or if you feel like tapping into your inner modern artist, paint the centre a light colour which can be done while the rest of the poppy is still wet – ideal for blending to create a bespoke masterpiece of floral watercolour beauty.

Watercolour paint is a user-friendly, fun medium that can be used to experiment. So, don’t be discouraged if your art doesn't turn out the way you want it first time.  Don’t be afraid to play and learn.