Paint your own watercolor flower moon!

Follow along and paint a floral moon, or choose whatever theme inspires you.

To start, you’ll want to draw a circle for your moon using a compass or circular object you can trace (like a glass!). If you’re using masking fluid, paint a thick band around the inside of your circle and let it dry before you start painting.

Choose your color palette, and start painting your flowers (or whatever you want to surround your moon with). Let this process be loose, fun, and playful, and enjoy the fact that watercolor works in such spontaneous ways!

Once you’re finished with your flowers and they’re dry, you can lift the masking fluid (if you’re using it) and start painting a wet-on-wet, intuitive watercolor moon.

Finally, add some special details that make it all your own, or use this opportunity to experiment with something new! Whatever you create, share your final moon in the project gallery.

Want to improve your technique before painting your moon? Check out Anna Victoria’s beginner’s class on modern watercolor techniques!

Materials

Here’s what you’ll need to paint along:

Paper: Ana Victoria is using 9 x 12 inch Canson XL watercolor paper, but any brand or paper size will do. Just make sure it’s labelled “watercolor” not “mixed media” or something else so that it can handle the amount of water you’ll be using! Have some scrap paper nearby as well. Ana Victoria tends to use a little watercolor sketchbook by Hand Book, Strathmore, or Moleskine for this.

Watercolor paints: Any paints you have on hand work for this exercise! Ana Victoria likes using a mix of watercolor materials, including: a Sennelier watercolor pan set, tube paints from Daniel Smith, liquid watercolor from Dr. Ph. Martin’s, and iridescent watercolors from HydraColour.

Brushes: Ana Victoria recommends having a variety of brush sizes, and prefers round brushes with a pointy tip for her style of loose florals. She’s using Princeton Lauren Series synthetic brushes. You’ll also want a flat brush on hand if you’re adding splatter, and a cheaper brush you don’t care about as much if you’re using masking fluid.

Masking fluid (optional): In the class, Ana uses masking fluid to mark out the circle for her moon and prevent paint from getting on it while she paints the florals. She’s using Royal Talens liquid masking film, but any masking fluid will work. If you don’t have masking fluid, you can also use washi or masking tape (though you won’t be able to create a circle), or just be extra careful while you’re painting your florals to keep the circle shape paint free.

White ink, acrylic, or goache (optional): Ana adds some final stars and other details with a white ink, which is more opaque than white watercolor. The brand she’s using is Copic.

Resources

Connect with Ana Victoria on Instagram and on her website.
Check out Ana Victoria’s other classes on her Skillshare profile.
Learn about the different full moon names in The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Explore More Classes on Skillshare

Watercolor in the Woods: A Beginner's Guide to Painting the Natural World — Rosalie Haizlett

Watercolour for Relaxation: Simple Projects to Help you Unwind — Sharone Stevens

Loose Watercolor Florals: Create Beautiful DIY Name Cards — Ana Victoria Calderón

Nina Kristin Espeland

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