Daffodils with Negative Painting Technique

1. Preview: Hi and welcome to my Skillshare class, where I will teach you how to paint daffodils using the negative painting technique and bright, lively colors. My name is Chris and I'm a professional watercolor artist and teacher. Back in 2012, I discovered my love for watercolors, and ever since it has become my greatest passion. In fact, I turned my passion into my profession and since 2019, I've been teaching online, sharing my knowledge and helping others understand the beauty of this medium. For this skill share class, we'll be focusing on painting daffodils. I'll guide you step-by-step in creating a realistic painting of these beautiful flowers. Throughout the class, you will learn and practice skills, techniques and concepts that will help you to create this amazing painting. I'll provide you with all helpful resources that will help you get started. This includes a comprehensive list of the supplies I used for the painting, ready to print a line drawings in various sizes along with the reference photos. You can also refer to my finished painting for inspiration and guidance. If you're ready to start creating something beautiful, Then let's jump right in and get started. 2. Your Project: For your class project, I invite you to create a painting of a daffodil, flowers and leaves, using the negative painting technique, you can choose to follow the entire process and paint the entire picture. Or focus on painting just one flower with a few leaves. Whatever approach you take, I encourage you to share your process shots and final painting with the class. You can upload them to the projects and resources section by clicking on the Create Project button. Adding a short description of your process and any challenges you faced during the creative process can help other students, as well as myself to provide feedback and support. If you have any questions or concerns throughout the process. Don't hesitate to ask in the discussion section. I am here to assist you in any way I can. I also highly recommend that you watch each lesson before diving into painting. It will help you become more familiar with the techniques and better prepared for what to expect, leading to a more confident and comfortable painting experience. 3. Resources: To help you get started with your project, I've prepared several resources that you can access in the projects and resources section. Please note that these resources are only available on the web version of Skillshare, not the app. Among the resources, you will find a PDF file that includes a list of all the supplies I used for this painting. While you don't necessarily need the exact same supplies, I recommend using 100 per cent cotton paper for best results. You are free to use your preferred paints and brushes. In addition, you will find reference photos at tonal study, a color study, and my finished painting for your reference. I've also prepared a line drawings in different sizes for you to choose from. You can print the one that suits your needs and transfer it onto your watercolor paper using your preferred method. I painted the daffodils in 12th by eight size, but you can choose to paint in a different size. 4. Introduction: Hello everyone. So today we're going to start painting some beautiful daffodils. This painting isn't too complex. So even if you are new to watercolors, I encourage you to give it a try. The shapes are fairly simple and the colors are really lovely. The only tricky part may be the use of negative painting technique. But don't worry, I'll guide you step-by-step through the process. You can usually tell when someone has used this technique because the colors flow across different shapes, creating unique effects. Also the shapes itself are very distinct. E.g. in this painting, you can see that the purple partially overlaps the background and partially covers the pedals. The same goes for the green. Normally we wouldn't paint like this, but that's the beauty of negative painting. The colors do their own thing on the paper and we just react to it. But before we begin painting, let's briefly review what negative painting is. In the next lesson, I'll explain the concept behind it in more detail. 5. Negative Painting: Negative painting is a technique in which we paint around an object to bring out its shape. Rather than painting the object itself. In theory, it is a straightforward technique, but in practice, it may be quite challenging. Let's take a look at some examples of negative painting. Imagine we have a daffodil with six petals, are stem and the bad in the background. Before we begin painting, we will create a sketch of the daffodil. And if we were to paint the main flower and the bud, our main subjects, this would be considered positive painting. Some artists referred to this as positive painting in contrast to negative painting. However, for me, positive painting is something different. And I will explain this shortly for the purpose of this demonstration, let's call it positive painting, or just regular painting. The negative space refers to everything around the main object. If we were to paint the entire negative space, we would be creating a negative painting. Instead of painting the daffodil directly, we would paint a rounded shape to create the desired effect. Let's consider another example. Here we have a daffodil and we drew a sketch of it. We can see that everything around the flower is the negative space. However, a negative painting involves more than just painting the negative space. Let's take a closer look at the process of painting this daffodil using the negative painting technique. Stage one of the painting process involves applying the main colors to the sketch. This step sets the overall mood and colors scheme of the painting is important to have a clear idea of the desired mood before applying the first layer of color. This decision will impact all subsequent layers of the painting. E.g. warm colors may create a friendly atmosphere. High contrast complimentary colors can be used for a dramatic look, or a light pastel colors can be used to create a peaceful mood. In this example, we are applying yellow to the daffodil, warm greens around it, and a touch of a worm, pink to suggest maybe pink flowers in the background. During this stage, the colors are not confined to the pencil lines. The colors of the main subject can bleed into the background, and the colors of the background can flow into the main subject is possible to control the colors to some extent, but the objective is to cover the paper with base colors. Some white gaps can be left as well. Once the first layer has completely dried, we can move on to the second layer. It's important to wait until the previous layer is completely dry before applying another layer. Now we can start using the negative painting technique. Our goal is to paint around the main subject to bring out its shape. We carefully paint around the daffodil while going over the background. Once again, this helps to bring out the shape of the daffodil. Now, there are two important things to keep in mind at this stage. Firstly, we don't have to paint the entire background, e.g. in this demonstration, the pink color in the bottom-left corner disappears as I go over it with green. However, I could have applied the green only close to the daffodil and then faded away into the background. This way, the pink from the previous layer would still be visible. Our aim is just to bring out the shape of the daffodils so we don't need to cover the entire background with the paint. Secondly, it's important to consider the use of color. We always need to think about how colors interact with each other and what happens when they mixed together. If I applied green in the previous layer, then in this layer I would also use green. I could add in some blue or yellow, as I know that when I apply them over the green, I will get some nice colors. However, I wouldn't apply e.g. red because I know that it would result in muddy colors. We need to choose colors wisely to avoid getting unexpected results. In general, the first layer sets the color scheme, and the following layers are repetitions of those colors. Unless we really want to make a change along the way. Now that we have established the negative shapes, we can proceed to. Another negative layer. Let's say we want to include a leaf. We can either use a pencil to draw the leaf. Or if we have a clear vision in mind, we can paint it directly. Once we have the leaf outlined, we can paint around it. I used here purple color to make it visible so that you can see where I applied the paint. As we applied the paint, we blended away from the leaf, allowing the colors from the previous layer, like the pink from the first layer to show through, It's important to note that we can choose to paint around both the leaf and flower, or partially over the flower. To create an interesting effect, we can add as many negative shapes as we want. And when it comes to the daffodil itself, we can use regular painting techniques to finish the flower and not negative painting. I previously mentioned positive shapes, which for me are simple silhouettes of shapes without any details. They are typically painted using a single color or a few colors and they feel negative spaces. Here are a few examples to help illustrate this concept. This is my painting spirit of hope, which is a great example that shows everything we have discussed so far. The flowers, buds, and most of the leaves are painted using regular painting techniques. While some of the leaves are painted using negative painting technique, you can easily identify the leaves painted using negative painting technique because they were created by painting around them. In addition, you can also see examples of positive painting in this piece. For instance, the leaf shapes painted as flat silhouette without any details. Fill out the negative spaces and add depth to the painting. These leaves, which look like little leaf spirits at a unique touch to the piece. This is what I call positive painting. Let's examine this painting. The leaves and stems are painted using the negative painting technique. But in the background, you can see some faint silhouettes of leaves painted positively. The positive painting technique helps to create a sense of space and balance in the painting and it adds more interest. Another example of positive painting, you can see here in this painting, in the upper part and on the left, while the bottom section features negative painting. In this final example, you can see some leaves painted using the negative technique and some rows sepals painted using positive painting. Now that we have a better understanding of negative painting, we can move on to the next lesson, where we will apply the first layer to our painting. 6. Initial Layer: For our first step, we will be painting the basic colors throughout the entire painting. To establish the color scheme and mood, it's crucial to select the colors carefully as they will set the tone for the entire piece. Here you can see me using the Procreate app to sketch out decomposition for our painting. I also created a value study in the app where I painted everything using different shades of gray. It's essential to establish the tonal values before the colors as they are more important. With the value study ready, I could experiment with different colors schemes and select the ones that would work best for the painting. In the end, I had a value study, a color study, and to reference photos. I made a collage with these references and had it displayed on my computer screen while painting. This helped me stay focused and have all the necessary information in one place. Before we begin applying the colors to the paper, we need to prepare our paint to create a fresh, vibrant green. Let's make this transparent yellow with Winsor green, yellow shade. I don't want to completely mix these two colors together. Instead, I prefer to let the colors meet in the middle, allowing me to pick up more green or yellow as needed for different areas of the painting. This gives me the flexibility to adjust the hue and achieve the desired effect. In addition to the green mix, will also need purple. To create it. Let's mix ultramarine blue with quinacridone magenta. Both of these colors have a purple undertone, which makes them perfect for creating a vibrant shade of this color. Now it's time to apply water to the paper. For this step, I'll be using my old one-and-a-half inch flat brush. I have a separate container of clean water at the ready. Begin by applying a layer of water evenly over the entire surface of the paper. Hold the painting at an angle to ensure that the water is distributed evenly. You should see a nice sheen on the paper, but no puddles of water. If you do notice any puddles forming, simply spread them out to ensure that the surface is evenly wet. Now, using a round brush size 12, pick up some purple and apply it to the areas where you want to see it. Of course, you can choose different colors that suit your preferences. For this painting. I thought a color combination with purple, green, and yellow would work great. I decided to have three main purple spots in the background. Green and yellow are analogous colors, and purple is a complimentary color to yellow, which gives that nice contrast. Next, pick up the green and apply it to the background. Remember that the surface of the paper is wet, which means the paint is continuously moving. You can control the paint to some extent by tilting your painting and forcing the paint in a particular direction. But you can't control everything. The most crucial thing to remember is that the petals of the daffodils should be white. Don't allow too much color to flow into the pedals. You might want to apply the colors slightly further away from the flowers, not as close to the pencil lines as I did. If you apply the paint further away, it will flow up to the pencil lines. And even if it doesn't, that's okay. Because in the next layer we will apply another layer around the pencil lines. For now, make sure that only a little bit of those colors flow into the petals. We want them to stay white. If you see too much paint flowing in, clean your brush and with a clean, damp brush just leafed out the excess paint. The spread of paint is inevitable and uncontrollable. But that's the beauty of this technique. Also notice that I'm not using my brush to force the colors to mix on the paper. Instead, my brush is just delivering the paint to the paper. And all the mixing is happening automatically without my help. I'm just tilting the painting to get the paint moving. And the colors are blending by themselves. The fewer brushstrokes, the better. If you start fiddling with your brush and push the paint here and there to mix the colors, you will get an overworked look. It's better to avoid that and let gravity do the work for you while you just delivered the paint. Also, in order to avoid that overwork look, you need to use a brush that is big enough for this particular painting. And I'm painting on a size 12 by eight. I think the brush number 12 is a good size. Lastly, drop in some transparent yellow to the trumpets of the daffodils. And again, don't worry if this color, we'll go over the pencil lines. Here. You can see me lifting out some of the pain to where it has spread too far. While the paint is still wet. Tlt are painting in different directions. Keep doing this as long as you can see the paint moving on the paper. Once it settles down and there are no puddles of paint, let it dry. If you need to remove any excess paint with a paper towel. Notice how nicely the colors blend together, creating smooth transitions without any visible brushstrokes. Such color gradients are difficult to achieve with a brush alone. Wet on wet technique is best for this as you simply apply the colors and let them do their own thing on the paper. Now, leave this layer to dry completely. Once it's dry, we can move on to the second layer. 7. Second Layer: After the previous layer has completely dried, it's time to apply the second layer, which will be actually the first negative layer. Since the colors from the previous layer are already dry, I'll add a bit of water to reactivate them. To get a slightly darker shade of green. I'll mix Payne's gray with my upper green color. I'll continue using the same round brush size 12 as before. The purpose of this stage is to define the main shapes by painting around them. Our main shapes are, of course, the flowers. But we can also begin to create some of the leaves. We'll be painting along the pencil lines. So pick up your green and start from the bottom left side. It's important to note that the paint should be very watery at this stage. As this will allow you to create smooth washes. If the paint is too dry, it will create visible brushstrokes which we want to avoid. We want to seem nice, smooth washes. And since we are painting wet on dry, not wet on wet, the paint must be watery. Paint around the flowers and leaves, trying to use the same colors as in the previous layer, in the same places. If you use the purple, use purple again, and if you used green, then use green again. However, if you want to change the color or add a different color, feel free to do so. Using very watery paint not only allows for smooth washes, but also gives time to paint intricate areas, e.g. between the petals here. I can take some time to paint carefully because the edges I left hire remains wet for at least a minute. To achieve smooth washes and avoid hard edges, we must pay attention to the edges. If an edge starts to dry out quickly, add more water to make it wet. Again, referring to the value study, I'm using darker tones in places that will ultimately be dark. Here I'm painting around and between the leaves. You can see that I'm also painting over the leaves and I'm creating those diagonal shadows. After finishing this layer, let it dry completely. Each layer must be bone dry before applying another one. In the next part, we'll darken some areas and bring out more leaf shapes using the negative painting technique. 8. Darkening and More Leaf Shapes: Now that everything is completely dry, we can assess the values of the painting. Dry paint is usually much paler than wet paint. So we can now see whether some areas need more darkening. By comparing our painting with the value study, we can determine which areas need more work to create a darker tone will prepare more green. This time with slightly more Payne's gray added, will use a brush size 12th. Start by picking up a watery dark green and apply it to the left side. Quickly urines and blood the brush and then smooth out the edges. Darken the area under the flower and add some shadows to the leaves. When painting the negative spaces between the leaves and creating the shadows on the leaves. It's important to use a very dark green, but makes sure that the consistency is still watery, not thick and dry. If you come across a situation where one leaf overlaps another, apply more paint to the one in the bag to push it more to the background. Now here is where I made a mistake. I created this triangular shape, which didn't really make sense. I guess I wanted to create a petal shape but a failed. So feel free to change this area however you like, maybe go higher with the paint and paint this entire section with the green, or maybe create another leaf shape here in the bottom right corner, create another leaf shape. Notice that there is also one more small leaf shape in the final painting, which we'll add in the next layer. To darken the area between the flowers. Apply more dark green and purple, but don't cover the entire section with paint. Instead, add more paint and soften the edge to blend it with the background. We want the colors from the previous layer to show through. Now that this layer is finished, we'll move on to the final background layer. In this layer will create more leaves and darken some areas even further, especially under the flowers. 9. More Leaves, More Darkening: Always make sure that everything is completely dry before proceeding with the next step. Now, our focus will be on the lower part of the painting, where we aim to create more leaves and darken the area. Overall. The flowers cast a shadow on the leaves, and this whole area should be darker. For this step, I'll be using again, brush size 12th. Prepare a large amount of darker green paint by mixing Payne's gray with transparent yellow and Winsor green yellow shade. The mixture should be dark, but again, it should be watery, not too thick. Begin by painting the darkest negative spaces between the leaves. Imagine the shape of the leaf and paint the background around it. If you prefer, you can draw the leaves with a pencil and follow the lines. I noticed that lightest leaves in this area stood out too much, so I applied a light green layer over them. Next, darken the entire area under the flowers by applying a thin layer of green and purple under the petals. This will push this whole leaf area further to the background, and it will bring the flower shapes to the front. In the upper-right corner. I wanted to get rid of that triangular shapes, so I added more paint to make it a bit less visible. If you did not create this shape, good for you. You do not have to do anything here. Look at your painting as a whole and consider any areas you think you should darken. If you are satisfied with your background, allow it to dry completely. And in the next step, we will begin painting the flowers. 10. Trumpets - Initial Layer: We'll now begin painting the flowers, starting with the trumpets. The trumpets are a slightly smaller, so we'll switch to a smaller brush. And I think that the size ten will be a good size. I'll be using a brush size ten. Before we start, let's prepare some colors. I need to clean my palette to make room for yellow. We should also change the water in our water container. For the trumpets, we will need yellows and oranges, and perhaps even some reds. Let's start by preparing the brightest yellow, which is Winsor yellow will also need a warm yellow, which is Winsor yellow deep. Lastly, we will need a deep orange red color. To create this, Let's mix Winsor yellow deep with quinacridone magenta. Since we've already used magenta for the purple, we can also use it now to create orange, maintaining color harmony. Begin by painting with Winsor yellow, wet on dry. Applied this color over the entire trumpet, leaving some lighter gaps for highlights. Next, use a Winsor, yellow deep and applied inside the trumpet to create a variation in color. Now pick up your orange red and applied on the edges of the trumpet. Since the yellow paint is still wet, the orange color will spread on the paper. Although this is just the basic layer. If you prefer, you can wait a minute for the yellow to dry a bit more and then the orange will not spread as much. I'm using a slightly thicker paint consistency for the orange, allowing me to control the spread. The thicker the paint, the less it will spread. Pull the orange color towards the center of the flower, creating a beautiful shape that resembles a folded piece of paper. Use a mix of Winsor yellow and Winsor yellow deep to apply color around the trumpet on the petals. Since the pedals are white, they reflect the colors from their surroundings. Therefore, the colors of the trumpet should be reflected on the petals. Repeat the process. On the second flower. Start with Winsor yellow. Then paint the edge of the trumpet with orange. Finally, use Winsor yellow deep to paint the lines running from the edge to the center of the flower. As you can see in the final painting, I made the entire trumpet darker and warmer. However, you may want to retain more of that pure Winsor yellow, as it is in the reference photo. Allow everything to dry. And in the next part, we'll paint the shadows on the petals. 11. Shadows on the Petals: Before we begin painting the shadows, I'd like to discuss two types of shadows. Cast shadows and core shadows are cast shadow is created when an object abstracts light from a source like the sun or a lamp, and can often be seen on the surface of the object. Cast shadows usually have defined shapes with hard edges that are determined by the shape of the object blocking the light on these petals, there are several cast shadows visible. E.g. we can see a cast shadow created by the trumpet that blocked the light. Since the light source is in the upper right corner, the cast shadow appears on the opposite side. We can see that the shape of this cast shadow is determined by the trumpet. The core shadow, on the other hand, is the darkest part of a shadow on an object itself. It is the area that is not heat directly by the light source and is therefore the darkest part of the object surface. The core shadow is used to create depth and dimensionality in an object. If we examine this pedal, we can see both a cast shadow and a core shadow. The cast shadow has a sharp edge and is created by the folded pedal that blocked the light source. The core shadow, on the other hand, is just a dark portion of the petal with a soft edge. When painting white flowers, shadows are the most crucial component. It's actually the shadows that we have to paint to give form to the petals. I really enjoy painting white flowers because they are quite simple to work with scenes. We only need to focus on the shadows. Shadow color can be nearly anything, since it is frequently a neutral color. With the addition of colors from the surrounding environment. To create the shadow of our flowers, we will use the colors that we have already used, yellow and purple. These two colors are complimentary colors and they neutralize each other, resulting in a worm neutral brown. Because we need to reflect the colors of the trumpet. We want to use some yellows in our shadows. And the natural compliment to the yellow is purple, making them a great pair. You can see that in the reference photo, the shadow color is much cooler than in my painting. And the reason for that is because I like to make my paintings generally to be warmer in town, not cooler. So I very rarely use cool colors, especially for the shadows. But if you would like to create a shadow that is similar to the one in the reference photo. You could also use marine blue mixed with the burnt sienna and Winsor yellow deep to create a neutral gray that you can shift more towards yellow or blue, depending on how much ultramarine blue or Winsor yellow, deep you will add to the mix. That is also a good option because we have already used ultramarine blue for the purple in the background. So we can now use it also to create the shadows on the petals. But as I mentioned, I like to use a bit warmer colors for the shadows, and that's why I decided to use yellow and purple for my shadows in this painting. So begin with the Winsor yellow and add a little bit of purple to achieve a nice yellowish neutral brown. Start with a very light tone, followed by a darker tone using a watery mix, paint the shadow on the first petal and switch to yellow when approaching the center of the flower. Shadows cannot be flat and dull. So it is best to use at least two colors, making them more interesting. In this case, we're using purple and yellow. We need to make sure that they are both visible. Pure purple would make the shadow appear flat. But adding yellow gives it life. Apply the shadow colors to each petal where you can see a shadow using wet on dry technique and watery paint consistency. Remember to drop in yellow close to the trumpet. Cast shadows usually have sharp edges, while core shadows have soft edges. If you like, you can always soften this sharp edges either by softening them with a clean, damp brush while the paint is drying, or with a scrubber brush when everything is completely dry, I usually choose the second method because it's just easier and I think it's more effective. Notice that I am simplifying everything. I'm not trying to paint every little detail. If you look closely at the pedals, you will notice that they have a very distinct texture. If I wanted to create this texture, it would take a long time and we would have to be very, very detailed for this painting. We want to simplify things so we won't go into so much detail. Our petals will have a smooth texture. After painting the shadows, leave everything to dry completely. And in the next part, we'll add details to the trumpets and finished the painting. 12. Trumpet Details: Before starting, make sure that everything is completely dry. I'll be using a brush size ten. For this step. We will need the same colors as before, which are an orange mix of Winsor yellow deep with magenta, Winsor yellow deep itself, and maybe Winsor yellow. However, we will start with our orange color. Our aim now is to create a more distinct shadows on the trumpet and a more defined orange edge. To achieve this, we will use the wet on dry technique. Paint the orange shadow and define the orange edge. Then rinse and blot your brush and use a clean damp brush to soften the edges and blend the orange with the previous layer. Keep one edge sharp on one side to create a clear contrast between light yellow and orange. Work slowly and paint each shadow individually, remembering to put more emphasis on the edges and define them clearly. On the edges. Add a little bit more magenta to shift the color more towards red. A few of these shadows on the inside of the trumpet applied the paint on the edge and blend it our way towards the center to create a gradient from orange to the yellow from the previous layer. Sharp edges here and there also help to create that characteristic shape that remains folded paper. For the second flower, we'll need a smaller brush. I'm switching to a size six. We have to paint some details in the center. For that, we also need a darker color. This time, let's mix Winsor yellow deep with quinacridone, magenta, and ultramarine blue. To create a more brownish color. Start with a light tone of the color and apply it in the darkest areas to establish where the darkest tones are. Switched and orange and use a bigger brush to paint the main shadow on the trumpet. Let it dry. I'm using a hairdryer here to speed up the drying time. However, when you finish, wait a few minutes for the paper to cool down before applying the paint. As the paper may become hot after using a hairdryer. When you apply the paint on such paper, the paint will dry too quickly. Now switch back to our brush size six. Prepare a dark brown mix of quinacridone, magenta, ultramarine blue, and Winsor yellow deep. We need a slightly thicker paint consistency now, but not too thick. It has to be fluid. Carefully paint around the statements in the darkest areas. We want to create a deep dark area that makes the trumpet look more three-dimensional. Rinse and blot your brush and use a clean, damp brush to soften out the edges. Next pickup, light orangey brown color and use it to paint some shadows on the anthers. We just need to darken them a little bit because they are in the shadow. But tried to maintain the longest one in the center light as it catches some sunlight. Mix quinacridone magenta with Winsor yellow deep to create our orangey red color and work on the edges of the trumpet. As before, apply the paint on the edge to define it better. And then pull the paint toward the center of the flower. In the shadow area, mix the orange with the dark brown to make a darker tone. Once you've completed your painting, take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes. Take a moment to analyze the painting in terms of tonal values. Are there any areas that you feel should be darkened? I usually find areas like this. Remember that tonal values are crucial in a painting. And you need to make sure that your darks are dark enough. Often when you feel that something is not working in your painting. It's usually because of the tonal values. Very often darks are not dark enough. For instance, in my painting, I think I should darken some of the cast shadows. I'll use the same colors to apply another layer to these areas and add more depth and contrast to the petals. Finally, the last step is optional, but I do this often, especially when painting white flowers. I use a scrubber brush, specifically. It, Windsor Newton's Galleria brush, size four. With this damp brush, I soften some of the hard edges. Dip the brush in water, remove the excess by dabbing the brush on the paper towel and wrap the brush gently on the hard edge back and forth. When you activate the dry paint, remove it by touching it with a paper towel. This step is not necessary, but sometimes especially when painting cast shadows on white flowers. I prefer the shadow edges to be less sharp. I think that when they are less sharp, it gives the impression of stronger light shining on the pedals. If you like, you can also create some highlights on the leaves. This step is also optional and things just an idea. Okay, So I think that the painting is finished. We can remove the masking tape and cut out the painting. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out the shapes were big and simple. The colors were really nice to work with. And there were not too many details. I hope you enjoyed watching the videos and I look forward to seeing your version of this painting. Thank you for watching and happy painting. Bye.