Have you ever wondered how to paint loose watercolor flowers? I thought I’d share some of my tips and recent paintings, which will help you understand my process and allow you to create similar results in no time at all!
Paint Loose Watercolor Flowers: Painting flowers in a mason jar
I painted the flowers in a very light wash of yellow/green, then dropped in some neutral tint for the centers.
The final and most fun part for me is adding the background!
I chose a light and granulating color – Goethite (still darker than the flowers) to cut around the flowers and jar.
I made a video of how to paint this here.
Paint Loose Watercolor Flowers: Sunflowers in a vase
Sunflowers! A great subject to start with. For beginners, the large petals will make it easy for you to draw and paint. I painted these in a very light wash of Hansa yellow with some gamboge dropped in for darker areas on the petals, then dropped in some neutral tint for the centers.
I chose a combination of ultramarine blue and purple (darker than the flowers) to cut around the flowers and vase.
I made a video of how to paint this here.
Paint Loose Watercolor Flowers: Mixed floral arrangement in a vase
These are some loose flowers I painted in watercolor.
I added the colors for the flowers first, keeping them very light (about 1/4 pigment to 3/4 water). Everything is painted wet into wet at this stage but you can create an unpainted white edge in areas to avoid all the colors running together.
The background was added once the first wash was dried.
Paint Loose Watercolor Flowers: Loose flower arrangement with a light background
These are some loose flowers I painted in watercolor.
I added the colors for the flowers first, keeping it very light (about 1/4 pigment to 3/4 water). Everything is painted wet into wet at this stage but you can create an unpainted white edge in areas to avoid all the colors running together. Also added some green stems running between flowers and leaving some white areas too.
The background was added once the first wash was dried. I went lighter in the background to create a subtle contrast.
A nice technique you can use at the end is to add some clean water with a brush to the edges of some of the flower petals. Use a tissue to lift. This creates a softer edge. I’ve done that for the white flower in the front.
I hope that this article has helped you to understand how to paint loose watercolor flowers. It’s quite easy to get started as the flowers can be indicated in an abstract manner, to begin with, and then draw out more with some dark background colors afterward.
