There are 2 assignments in this lesson:

• Practice painting flowers with blending colors
• Coloring a flower from a photograph

Learning objectives:

• One and multi-color watercolor washes
• Loose silhouette painting
• wet-on-wet technique
• wet-on-dry technique
• dry-brush technique

Use a piece of watercolor paper, tape it to a board.

Prepare a few color washes.

Draw a flower outline with a wash.

Color inside the outline.

Lift some color in the top part of the flower.

While the flower is still wet, continue painting the stem with a different color.

Have the colors bleed.

Add another color to the stem.

I like to use darker colors and blue to add shadows to an object.

Grab a small amount of blue and add it to the bottom part of the flower and the areas that logically would be in a shade.

While all colors are still wet, you can add another color to the flower.

Start the leaf with drawing the outline and filling it in with a color wash.

You can add another color to the leaf while it is still wet.

When the first layer is dry - apply a darker wash to a leaf half.

When all previous washes are dry - start drawing "between the veins" shapes.

Leave gaps between those shapes - they will become veins.

Continue on both sides.

Work on one area at a time to make sure the surface stays wet.

Look closer at the photograph and try to see different colors within each shape.

If you have a hard time seeing colors - place a piece of paper next to the area and you will see how different the area is comparing to white paper.

Before you start painting - look for areas/shapes that are going to stay white.

Make sure you do not apply a wash there.

Shadows are usually cooler in color and darker. You can apply a blue wash to set the layout for the shadow. Even is you will apply another color on top of it later - it will be easier to treat these areas as a shadow.

Wait for one area to dry before painting next to it.

Unless you want the colors to bleed.

Apply colors in layers.

Start with a lighter color.

If the first wash has dried and you are still painting - add some clean water to the area (not too much).

Always use washes and watered down paint, never "scoop" watercolor like acrylics...

Start with lighter color washes, then add darker colors.

Use a variety of tones and values even for small and narrow shapes.

Use a flat brush if you need to lift color to add highlights for a more realistic look.

Do not forget shadows for even small parts.

Use layers of washes for leaves patterns.