Watercolour step by step

Step by step guide to paint the Pretty in pink painting.

I have developed below a simple step-by-step demonstration based on my painting shown in the watercolour section of this web page. These are free and you may print them off if you wish.

I suggest you read all the instructions before attempting the watercolour painting to familiarise yourself with each instruction, because watercolour painting is all about timing :).

Click on the image for enlarged picture.

Good luck with your painting and I hope these inspire you.

Colour suggestions

Suggested colours

To produce this watercolour painting I have used the following colours: - Cadmium yellow, Ultramarine, Mauve, Dioxazine Violet, Alizarin crimsion(not seen in photo) and Cadmium orange.

Other materials used.

Other materials

To enable the artist to retain the white of the paper, we use the method of masking out. I used a ruling pen and masking fluid (See Image) to mask out the stamen and the anther of the flowers .(See image). A Brush can be used to apply the masking fluid but wash out straight away because it ruins the brush if left to dry.

Step 1 - sketching & masking out details

Step 1

Start by sketching your image of the flowers. Then using the masking fluid, mask out the stamen and the Anthers of the flowers. (See image)

leave to dry.

Step 3 - petals

Step 3

Continue to use the same mixer and cocktail stick technique on alternative petals. Then picking up some Cadmium orange drop into some of the tips of the petals (See image) this complements the purple tones within the painting. Continue to paint all the petals and Leave to dry.

Step 5 - Painting leaves

Step 5

Next we are going to paint the leaves with combinations of dark and light greens. Start by painting wet on dry using the small round brush. ( See image) The green mixes are:-

Ultramarine and Cadmium yellow for the light green / Ultramarine and cadmium orange for the dark green. Leave to dry.

Step 7 - The vase

Step 7

Next the vase, wet the vase with the large flat brush. Make a mixer of pale Dioxazine violet, Cadmium orange and Ultramarine to make a warm grey. Paint the vase using the grey mix and add hits of the orange, purple and pink (See image) these colours are also added to the background. Taking care to leave some of the white to show the edge of the vase!

Step 9 - Adding texture

Step 9

To add some texture to the painting we are going to use an old tooth brush to spray. Dip the tooth brush into think Cadmium orange paint, only using a small amount of water. Cover the painting with paper where you don’t want the paint to spray onto. Then by rubbing your thumb alone the bristles which are facing downwards splatter the paint (see image) being careful not to have too many big drips. Practice on scrap paper first before destroying your master piece

Brush suggestions

Brushes used

To produce this watercolour painting I used the following watercolour brushes: Large flat brush, a large round brush, and small detail brush. We will be also using a tooth brush to add texture.

Other materials used.

To create texture on the petals of the flower we are going to use to techniques using a cocktail stick, first technique used is to scrape the petals to form the markings, this is done while the paint is wet to form darker lines (See image) the second techniques is the tip of the cocktail stick to produce dots, this is done by placing the end (tip) of the stick into the neat paint and pressing lightly onto the paper, a form of pointillism.

Step 2 - Petals

Step 2

Start by mixing a wash of Mauve and Alizarin crimson to make a warm pink. Using the round brush wet one of the petals and place the mixer towards the middle of the flower and pull the colour out towards the edge of the petal. This will give you a variegated wash- and paler colour towards the edges of the petal. (See image)Add in some dark tones by dropping in some Dioxazine violet, while the paint is wet drag the tip of the cocktail through the paint towards the tip of the petal. (See image)

Step 4 - Adding texture

Step 4

Once the petal have dried, we are going to use the cocktail stick tip which is dipped into neat violet paint to paint the spots on the petals. (See image)

Step 6 - Painting the buds.

Step 6

When it comes to do the buds we are going use the small round brush, wet the bud and the stem and paint the bud using the flowers colour and bleed into the green of the stem. ( See image)

Step 8 - Stamen & Anther

Step 8

Once the paintings as dried; rub off the masking fluid. Then mix up a mixer of Ultramarine and Cadmium yellow, which leans towards a more yellow green colour. Using small round brush paint wet on dry the stamens and then adds a bit of the cadmium to the Anther (See image) Leave to dry.

Step 10 -finished painting

Step 10

Finishing the painting you can add more details, for example – some dropped petals etc. Once you have completed all stages, stand back and enjoy your lovely painting. Hope you have enjoyed?