Garden Gems: Painting Rhododendron in Watercolor

1. Introduction: Hello, and welcome to this watercolor painting tutorial. Today we'll be painting a standing rhododendron flower, an iconic and cherished bloom often seen brightening up gardens with its vibrant clusters of petals. Rhododendrons are a joy to paint, offering a lovely variety of colors, shapes and textures. In this project, we'll focus on a delicate, light purple flower surrounded by green leaves, sepals, and vibrant pink buds. Throughout this tutorial, we'll mainly practice the charging technique. It's also a great opportunity to work on your water control. Many areas will be painted using the wet on dry method. While it might seem simple in theory, it can sometimes be a bit tricky in practice. We'll also pay special attention to capturing the beautiful light on the petals, something that always brings more depth and interest to a watercolor painting. This project allows for a bit more detail, but as always, feel free to simplify it in any way that suits you. Make it your own. My hope is that you will approach this painting with patience and a relaxed mindset. Take this time for yourself. No pressure, no rush. Just enjoy the process and let it be a quiet, creative moment. As always, I will guide you step by step. Through the entire process, breaking it down into manageable parts to make it both fun and achievable. At first glance, this project might look a little challenging, especially if you are newer to watercolor, but don't worry. With a bit of patience and my guidance, you will find it's easier than it seems. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a beautiful floral painting filled with glowing light, vibrant colors, and interesting shapes. Hope you will feel proud of what you create. So gather your supplies, take a deep breath, and let's begin this joyful painting together. Happy painting. 2. Project and Resources: The I've prepared a selection of helpful resources for your project available in the projects and resources section. You will find a PDF file with the supply list I used for this painting, along with a reference photo and an image of my finished artwork for guidance. Line drawings in various sizes are also provided so you can print and transfer them onto your watercolor paper in the size that best fits your needs. My painting is in a 12 by nine inch format. Additionally, there are working progress photos to help you follow the process and focus on specific areas. Feel free to explore these materials and use them to create your own unique and beautiful painting. Please don't hesitate to share your final painting in the projects and resources section. I also encourage you to take the time to view each other's work in the students project gallery. It's always inspiring to see what others create and the support of your fellow students can be incredibly comforting. Don't forget to like and comment on each other's work. Lastly, I highly recommend watching each lesson before you begin painting. This will give you a clear understanding of what to expect at each stage of the tutorial. If you find this class helpful, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave an honest review. Your feedback will help me improve my content and assist other students in deciding whether to join this class. Thank you in advance. 3. Inspiration & Painting Plan: Rhododendrons are quite popular in the area where I live. You can find them in many parks, but also in the gardens people have around their homes. There is a large arboreretum near my city with standing rhododendron gardens, and every year in May, it hosts the blooming Azalea and rhododendron days, a lovely event that draws both locals and tourists. It's a perfect time to take reference photos, hundreds of them if the weather is kind. For this particular painting, I chose a photo where the sun beautifully illuminates the petals from behind. I also love the strong highlights on the buds. These are the kinds of elements I always look for in a reference photo. Those glowing light areas bring so much life and interest to a painting. Personally, I prefer photos like this over ones that might have beautiful shapes and colors, but lack those strong highlights. Without that dramatic lighting, the final painting may not feel quite as exciting or dynamic. I also want to share a helpful tip with you. Sometimes reference photos can look extremely bright so much so that you might wonder, how can I possibly recreate that on paper with watercolor? This is where we need to understand the key difference between two color systems, additive, which is light based, and substractive, which is pigment based. Let me quickly explain. Screens use the additive color system, RGB. Devices like monitors, phones and TVs use red, green, and blue light to create all visible colors. This is called an additive system because combining these lights produces brighter colors and even pure white. Because you're looking directly at emitted light, the colors can appear extremely vivid, sometimes almost neon or glowing. Watercolors use the substractive color system, CMYK, just like printers. Watercolor paints work by absorbing or subtracting some wavelengths of light and reflecting others. The paper reflects ambient light that passes through or bounces off the pigment. You're not seeing light being emitted. So even the most intense watercolor pigment can't match the brightness or glow of a screen. And that's why instead of trying to replicate that extra bright effect, which isn't really possible with watercolor, I recommend doing something different. Use a photo app on your phone or computer to reduce the saturation of your reference image. Dialing down the saturation, those super bright pinks and violets become much more achievable with watercolor. It helps you to see a more realistic version of those colors closer to what you can actually mix on your palette. In fact, when you reduce the saturation enough, your actual painting might even look more vibrant than the edited photo. Now looking at your reference, we can see that instead of using fugitive neon like pigments like opera rose or bright violet, you can choose more reliable options like quinacrodon magenta or permanent rose. I didn't change much in this painting. I simplified the background, mainly because the flower itself is already quite complex, and when the subject is that detailed, I don't think the background needs to compete for attention. I decided to paint a simple soft background to create a nice smooth backdrop for the main subject. I also removed a few dry twigs from the left side of the photo. They weren't essential to the composition, so I felt it was better to leave them out. Now, I did consider using masking fluid for this painting. First, I thought about masking the edges of the flower so I could paint the background more freely, which is something I often do. But after analyzing the photo, I decided masking fluid wasn't really necessary. On the left side, there are just a few small background areas. This can be painted quite easily if we focus on one section at a time. On the right side, the background area is a bit bigger. But when deciding whether or not to mask, I always think about the complexity of the main subject's outline. In this case, the shape of the flower isn't too intricate, so I felt comfortable just painting around it. That said if you feel more confident applying masking fluid to the edges of the petals, feel free to do so. Go with what works best for you. I also considered masking the statements, but ended up skipping that as well. Most of the statements are darker than the petals behind them, so we can just paint over them. And where they appear later, we can simply paint around them with a bit of care. For this tutorial, I've divided the painting into clear manageable sections. We'll begin with the background, focusing on one area at a time. From there, we will move on to the leaves. Since we will already be working with greens in the background, we'll continue using those same colors there. Next, we will paint the sepals and we will break the process into two parts to keep things simple. After that, we will switch color palettes and begin painting the buds, which we will also divide into three manageable steps. Finally, we will move on to the main flower itself. We'll paint it in three parts. The first two will focus on the petals, and in the third one, we will complete the painting by adding the statements. Before we begin, I want to share a quick note. In this painting, I'll be going into a bit more detail than usual. Normally try to simplify everything as much as possible, and I will still be doing that here, but this subject is just so beautiful. I feel it deserves a little more attention. That said, please don't feel any pressure to follow along exactly or to create a highly detailed version. Feel free to simplify things as much as feels right for you. Most importantly, I want you to enjoy the videos and take a relaxed, calm approach to the painting. Take your time. There's absolutely no need to rush. If you start feeling tired or impatient, take a break, paint something else, have a cup of tea, and come back to this when you're ready. When you paint with a calm mind and focused attention, I'm sure you'll create something wonderful. So if you're ready, let's move on to the first part and begin with the background. 4. Background: I already have my sketch transferred onto the paper. I used a light pad to trace the line drawing, and I've attached the paper to my gator board using staples. I also added tape on all four sides, so we'll end up with a nice, clean white border around the finished painting. The paper is dry straight from the block. I didn't pre wed it. In the first part, we'll focus on painting the background. Let's start by preparing our colors. To mix colors, I use an old flat brush. This makes it easier to transfer more paint from the wells into the mixing area. I also like to spray my paints with clean water beforehand to soften the paints and make them easier to work with. Let's begin with Windsor green yellow shade. This will be our base green. This green can sometimes look a little too artificial, so it often needs a bit of adjusting. We will adjust it a little bit, but for this particular painting, I think it's fresh, vibrant quality will actually work very well, especially next to the strong pinks of the buds. We'll also need a darker version of this green, and for that, I will mix the Windsor green yellow shade with pains gray. To warm it up a bit, I will also add some green gold into the mix. We'll also use green gold on its own when we need a warmer, more natural green. And finally, I will mix a bit of burnt sienna into the dark green to help neutralize the bluish tint that comes from the paint's gray. I think a size ten brush should work well here, so I will begin with that. In the upper part of the painting, there are two small dark triangular shapes. Let's start with those. Pick up some dark green and fill in those shapes. Now let's move on to the upper left corner. Start with Windsor green mixed with a bit of green gold and paint wet on dry. After applying this green, we will use the charging technique for the first time. When the first layer of paint is applied and it's still wet, pick up the dark green and drop it into the steel wet layer we just painted. Technically, this is a kind of wet on wet, but more specifically, it's called charging. In wet and wet, we apply paint onto a layer of clean water on the paper, creating soft flowing effects. In charging, we add more paint into paint that's already wet on the paper to deepen the color or create interesting blends. It might sound simple, but the challenge lies in managing the wetness of your paint. Try to match the moisture level of the paint you're adding to the one already on the paper or use slightly thicker paint. If you add too much water, you might get blooms, which we want to avoid here. While the paint is still wet, we can also lift out some of it with a clean damp brush to create a lighter spot. Below, I noticed I forgot to draw one of the sepals, so I will quickly add that now. I can also see a few leaves in the background here, but I don't think they are essential to the composition. So I'm going to skip them. Instead, I will just lay down our base green and then charge it with darker green tones. I really enjoy painting backgrounds like this that are divided into smaller areas. It's much easier to manage and we can focus on one little section at a time. In the upper part, I'm dropping in a darker green to suggest the background continuing behind the bad. I used a darker green above the bad, so I want to suggest that below the bad as well for balance. Now moving to the lower left, we have a fairly simple shape to fill in with color. Here I will try to omit the small light green area on the right for now. It adds a nice light accent to the composition and brings a bit more interest. So let's begin by applying the base green first, and then we will gradually drop in other colors until we are happy with the result. Near the leaves, I will try to use a darker green to create contrast. Since the leaves will be lighter in tone, placing a darker background behind them will help them stand out nicely. Oh. I will also drop in some burnt sienna here. Not only do I see hints of this color in this area, but it also helps make the greens feel more natural and earthy. On the right side, I want to use transparent yellow, a bright glowing yellow, along with more burnt sienna. Then using a clean damp brush, I will lift out a bit of the paint to bring back some lighter tones. Next, we have those tiny sections between the leaves and sepals. In these areas, I will also use our greens, a touch of burnt sienna, and a bit of ultramarine blue since I notice a soft blue tone there as well. Now we can move on to the right side of the background. I need to prepare more paint here since the section is larger and I will definitely need more color. Again, I will use my three versions of green plus burnt CNA and transparent yellow, which I will keep on the palette. Let's start by painting the background between the stems. It's better to feel these tight areas before the rest of the right side is painted. It makes the process cleaner and easier to control. Now, I noticed a white area here that I left untouched, just like it is in the reference photo, thinking it was part of the petal. But now I think it makes more sense to treat it as part of the background. So I suggest that you go ahead and paint it with a dark green. For this larger background area, I will switch to a size 12 brush. I'll begin with the lightest tones, starting with a mix of transparent yellow and burnt sienna. Then gradually move into warm green gold. I'm starting with the lightest and warmest colors first, and I will add darker greens afterward to build the desired depth and contrast. Notice that I've simplified the background here quite a bit. Instead of spending a lot of time creating soft, blurry shapes, I've chosen a more abstract approach. I'm applying the paint around the lightest areas, then softening the edges with a clean damp brush leaving some lighter spots to suggest light filtering through the background. And here is a very important thing to keep in mind. My paint is quite watery. It has to be. If the paint is too dry, it will dry too quickly and leave hard edges, which we want to avoid. We need the paint to stay wet for a while so that we can continue working and smooth out the edges as needed. The key here is to maintain moisture that gives us time to shape, blend, and soften before anything dries too fast. Always try to keep your edges wet, especially if you plan to leave that area for a minute and work on a different part of the painting. If you prefer, you can also begin by applying a layer of clean water and then paint wet on wet. If that's a more comfortable approach for you, feel free to go with it. A light water layer helps keep the paint wet longer, giving you more time to work. At this stage, I'm dropping in more and more dark paint to deepen the colors. I'm currently painting wet and dry, and I'm also using the charging technique. That's because I know that with such a large brush, I can easily handle this area quickly enough to avoid hard edges. If I weren't confident about that, I would have applied a layer of water first to paint wet and wet instead. Try to use darker greens near the edges of the petals. This will create a strong contrast between the flower and the background, allowing you to achieve that beautiful glow on the petals. Continue working your way downward, alternating between darker and lighter greens. In this area, I also noticed a hint of very dark pink. So I'm going to add some quinacredon magenta. It's one of the colors I will be using for the buds anyway, and when it mingles with the green, it creates a deep muted tone, similar to what I see in the reference. Try not to overthink or overwork the background. Remember, nobody will compare your painting to the reference photo. Paint what looks good to you. Use the reference as inspiration, but there's no need to replicate it exactly. For me, it's enough to know where the darker and lighter tones are and to have a general idea of how the colors are distributed. That's really all the information I need to know to create a convincing expressive background. When you finish the background, let it dry completely, and in the next part, we will move on to painting the leaves. 5. Leaves: The background is now completely dry and since we still have green on the palette, let's move on to painting the leaves. We'll be using the same colors as before. Our main greens are Windsor green, yellow shade, and green gold. This mix is one that I use very often. It replaces colors like sub green or hookers green for me. If I want a more olive tone, I like to add a bit of burnt sienna or some red. I will start by picking up a very watery mix of Windsor green, green gold, and burnt sienna. I'm switching to a Seiten brush now. The first leaf has a strong highlight, so we want to leave that area unpainted. The white of the paper will serve as the brightest highlight. Apply the green to the leafy part, and while the paint is still wet, drop in a touch of darker green near the sepal and on the left side of the leaf. And that's all for now. We can leave it to dry. Next, let's mix a bluish green by adding some ultramarine blue to the greens and begin painting the next leaf with this turquoise stone. Apply this color to the middle section of the leaf and then fill the rest with the greens. Avoid painting the stem at this stage. Adding blue here helps create a nice sheen on the leaf surface. Finish this sleeve by applying a darker green near the stem and along the middle vein on the left side. There is a highlight visible here, but we will ignore it for now. We can easily create it later by lifting out paint. While the paint is still wet, we can also use a clean damp brush to gently lift out some paint to suggest a highlight on the slick surface of the leaf. There is one more leaf behind this one, but before painting it, I want to dry the leaf I just painted to avoid unwanted bleeding or blooms between the leaves. For the next leaf, I'm using the same greens, Windsor green mixed with burnt sienna and green gold and adding paint gray for the darker areas. The goal here is to apply the main greens as seen in the reference. Let's leave the stem unpainted and also try to leave a thin gap between the left and right sides of the leaf as a suggestion of the middle vein. Once we apply the main colors to the leaves, let's dry them completely. After the leaves are dry, we can move on to painting the stems. To start the stems, mix burned sienna, transparent yellow, and a touch of green. Now pick up burnt sienna and apply it near the sepal. Then use the yellowish green mixture to fill the rest of the stem area. Add some darker green and brown tones to reflect the subtle variations seen in the reference photo. To deepen these colors, use pains gray to darken both the greens and browns. What When the main colors of the leaves are completely dry, we can focus on adding details. I'm switching to a different brush now, a size zero liner brush. You don't have to use this exact brush. A regular round brush with a sharp tip works just as well. Like this liner brush because it allows me to create very thin lines, perfect for painting fine veins on the leaves. Using a slightly darker green shade, any green that's a bit darker than the base leaf color will work. Paint the veins of the leaves. Veins on these leaves are very subtle and actually lighter and more yellowish than the leaf itself. If you want to be botanically precise, you might consider using guash for those yellow veins. But since they are so thin and faint, we can take some artistic license here. I'm painting simple veins that are a bit darker than the leaf. Notice that I'm leaving gaps in the highlighted bluish area, and I'm applying a darker tone close to the middle vein and near the edges. The simple trick enhances the illusion of the leaves rounded form. The lighter parts look raised and curved outward, while the darker veins near the edges and the middle vein appear concave adding depth. A final touch, I'm using just a tip of a bigger brush to apply many thin lines close together like pencil strokes, then gently blending them out. This creates a darker edge that enhances the illusion of the leaf curling slightly. Notice I keep the very edge of the leaf lighter, which adds to the effect. I'm also adding a darker green tone to the other leaf below the stamens to deepen the shadow. Then I return to the first leaf on the left and deepen its shadow with a slightly darker green as well. And with that, the leaves are finished. They look balanced, not too complex, but built with just a few simple layers. There is also that highlight on the left leaf that we will add later in the process. Now, leave everything to dry, and when you're ready, we will move on to painting the sepals. 6. Sepals - Initial Layer: Now we will start painting the sepals. We'll divide this into two parts. First, applying an initial base layer to all the sepals and then adding the details later. For this part, I'll be using a size ten brush. We'll use the same colors as before our greens, transparent yellow, burnt sienna, and also a bit of quinacrodon magenta. We already used magenta in the background, but it will be very helpful here, too. I will remove the old magenta paddle and prepare a fresh one. Let's begin with a very light tone of transparent yellow mixed with a touch of green. Apply this color to the first tiny seple but leave a gap along the edge to preserve a highlight. Next, pick up some quinacrodon magenta and drop it in near the bottom of the seple. Why magenta, because these sepals surround the buds, which we will paint using magenta and pink tones. The sepals reflect the colors of the surroundings. So some of that magenta and pink will be visible in these green sepals, as well. Plus, the mix of green and magenta creates an interesting, hard to describe color, a unique blend that adds richness and complexity to the sepals. There are also two tiny seples near the top, so let's quickly apply the same light green and magenta there as well. Make sure to leave the edges unpainted to keep those highlights. Now, let's move on to the main sepals, starting with the smaller one on the left. This one looks more brownish, so along with my yellowish green brownish mix, I will also add some magenta. I'll begin by applying a light tone of magenta. This isn't pure magenta. It's already mixed with green, making it more of a warm pink or a very light warm brownish color. Then I will switch to the light green color and fill in the rest of the seple. Start from the tip of the sepal and blend the color downward, gradually making the bottom part lighter. This will create that beautiful gradient effect we can see in the reference photo. While the paint is still wet, we can drop in more colors using the charging technique to intensify the tones. Add more magenta and green if your colors appear too pale. Remember, watercolor dries lighter than it looks when wet. Now let's move on to the sepal on the left side. For this one, we will need a bright spring green, which you can mix from green gold and transparent yellow. There's probably a touch of Windsor green in there too. Apply the slight green color first, painting around the highlights and leaving them untouched. While the paint is still wet, use the charging technique to drop some burnt sienna onto the tip of the sepal. And that's all for now on this one. Use the same bright green mix for the small light sepal near the leaf. Next, we'll work on the main sepals, starting with the one in the middle. Use the same bright green mix of green gold and transparent yellow and begin painting the sepal with a fairly watery consistency. As you paint upward, add more water to lighten the tone, creating a gentle gradient. Once this bright green base covers the entire sepal, we can start using the charging technique to add more colors. I can see some pink areas, so I will apply magenta here and there. There's also a brighter, fresher green visible on the left side, so I will add more Windsor green there. Keep adding layers and colors until you're happy with how the tones are distributed. Controlling your paint to water ratio is key. Try to keep the consistency fairly even using thicker paint for stronger or darker colors. Avoid adding too much water now as it will push the pigment around and cause unwanted blooms. I also want to add a bit more Windsor green at the bottom and some violet at the top. And the violet is a mix of magenta and ultramarine blue. While the paint is still wet, I will lift some pigment from the right side using a clean de brush. This creates a lighter area that enhances the round form of the sepal. We'll skip one seple to avoid bleeding and move to the sepal on the left. Start by applying green gold over the entire sepal except the left edge where we will keep a highlight. While the paint is still wet, drop in a cooler green with more windsor green using the charging technique. We already have a nice warm green on the sepal, so now we will charge it with cooler shades. Begin with the color green and then switch to burnt sienna at the bottom. Let all these colours mingle gently on the paper, creating soft gradients. Continue with the next sepal using a mix of green gold and quinacredon magenta. At this stage, the goal is to cover every sepal with the main colors you see without worrying about details yet. This initial layer will be a strong base to add shadows and details in the next step. For this particular seple, burnt sienna alone isn't red enough, so I'm adding some quinacridone red as well. Another seple start with a lighter, warmer green tone and drop in other shades where you see them. You don't need to create the final look now. Remember this is just the initial layer. We'll apply more layers later to deepen shadows and add details. For now, focus on only the light and middle tones. The second layer will build the dark values. The smaller sepals near the bottom have more brown, especially one of them. I painted that one with a mix of burnt sienna and transparent yellow dropping in more burnt sienna while the paint was still wet. And here's the last seple begin by applying a fresh green mix of Windsor green and green gold leaning toward a lighter mix with more Windsor green. Once the sepal is covered, switch to a more olive green by mixing in a bit of burnt sienna or quinacridone red. Finally, lift some paint from the bottom to create a reflected light on the edge. Add a bit more darker green near the petals to deepen shadows. Finish this part by painting the edges of the small sepal and three small areas between the sepals. And with this, we've applied an initial layer to all the seples. We now have a beautiful base to work from. Next, we will deepen shadows and add intricate details that will bring character and realism to these elements. And 7. Sepals - Details: The first layer on the sepels is nicely dry now so we can start adding more details to make them even more beautiful. I'm switching to a smaller brush ai six, but I will be moving back and forth between smaller and bigger brushes depending on the area I'm working on. I will start with the three small sepels at the top. For this, I won't add any new colors. Just reapply the same colors to deepen the tones. After the first layer, the colors dried a little too pale for my liking. So layering the same colors again will intensify the shades and bring more vibrancy to the sepals. Now, this step has two main goals deepen the colors, so darkening certain areas to create shadows, which helps build the form and volume of the sepals and add tiny details like very thin veins or lines that give character and realism. These veins aren't just decorative. They help define the shape by showing how the sepal bends and curves. So it's important to paint them mindfully following the natural flow of the sepal. If your brush isn't sharp enough, switch to a rigger or liner brush. These are perfect for painting long thin lines or veins. On the first sepal, besides adding the veins, I want to darken the bottom part a bit more. Since it's mostly hidden behind the sepals in front, adding a deeper shadow here will create a nice sense of depth. Moving on to the next sepal, I will begin by adding a few delicate lines. Now I'm building the form a bit more by adding darker tones. Here I'm mixing green gold, burnt sienna, and ultramarine blue to create a kind of yellowish green colour. I will apply this at the bottom and blend it upward toward the tip of the sepal. No I will also glaze a brighter, transparent green made from green gold and Windsor green over the sepal to intensify the greens. There is a highlight running down the middle and along the edge, but don't worry about that just yet. We will create those highlights in a moment using a scrubber brush. Looking at the sepal on the left side now, I can see that the tip should be darker and more brownish. I'm mixing a browner tone, applying it to the tip, and then blending it out. Now I want to darken the next sepal because I can see that it's a bit too pale. For that, I will mix green gold, windsor green, burnt sienna, and we darken it by adding a touch of pains gray. I will apply the color on the left edge of the sepal and then I will switch to a brighter green mix of green gold and windsor green. I will apply it to the main part of the sepal and blend it away. This seple needs a bit more darkening to create stronger depth and contrast between the brown area and the sepal above it. So as you can see, I'm moving from one seple to the next, thinking about what I can do to improve the look. Which areas could I darken? What details should I add to make the painting resemble my preference? For example, on this sepal, I can see that I need to add that line in the middle that is bent in a very specific way. I also noticed that the greens could be darker. It's just a matter of making small adjustments, a slow process of little twigs until it feels right. Of course, these aren't details you have to add every time. You can simplify, paint more loosely, or even omit some areas. There are many ways to approach this. I'm showing you just one method, one approach, which this time focuses a little bit more on the details. Notice also that a very useful and very common technique is blending away. I would say that it's the most important technique after wet and dry. Blending away or softening the edges lets us soften hard edges and create beautiful smooth color transitions. This technique is quite simple. You just apply paint to the area, rinse your brush, blot it, and then use a clean de brush to gently blend the color away. Like any technique, it can be tricky sometimes, especially on larger surfaces, but on a small scale like this, it's much easier to manage. For example, I will use this technique on the brown sepal here. I will apply burnt sienna in the darker spots and then soften the edges with a clean de brush so that the hard edges aren't so obvious. The layer doesn't have to be super smooth. Having a little texture here is fine. I will also mix some brown with a touch of paints gray to paint the edges of the next seple. To finish this stage, I will add a few more lines and details and darken areas that still needed. If you look at the reference photo, my work in progress shots or the final painting, it will be easier for you to compare and see which areas in your own painting might still need some adjustment. We'll end this part by softening edges using a scrubber brush. I'll be using my tried and tested galeria brush size four. I dip it in water, then dab it on a paper towel before gently softening the edges. I'm focusing on all the places where the paint meets the white paper. Those edges are like cast shadows next to bright highlights. By softening them, we create a beautiful glowing light effect. You can also use a scrubber brush to lift paint from certain spots to create highlights on the sepals. After rubbing the paint gently with a cleaned brush, dab that area with a paper towel to remove the loosened pigment. I really like softening these cast shadows this way because it creates a lovely glowing light effect. Instead of harsh paint edges, you get a dazzling soft glow. Now we can lift out some paint from the leaf in the bottom left corner. I think this is a very effective way to add even more light to the painting and create that highlight on the leaf. The sepals are now finished. In the next part, we will completely change our color palette and start painting the buds. 8. Buds - Initial Layer: All the green parts are now finished, so it's time to move on to painting the flowers. This means we will completely change our color palette. I've cleaned my palette to make sure I'm working with fresh colors, and I've also changed the water in my container. We will start by applying an initial layer to all the buds. For this, I will use just three colors, quin acrodon magenta, permanent rose, and ultramarine blue. The buds have a very vibrant color. In some areas, I see warmer pinks in others cooler pinks and sometimes a bit of purple. That's why I chose these three colors, magenta for cool pink, permanent rose for the warm pink, and ultramarine blue to mix in and get that purple tone. Together, these colors should give us a bright, lively result. And when we place these pinks next to the green parts, their vibrancy will pop even more because of the color contrast. For this part, I'm using a size ten brush. Let's begin with the bat in the back. I'll start with permanent rose and then switch to a violet mix made from magenta and ultramarine blue. I'm painting wet on dry here because these are small areas and there is no need for wet on wet, even though I want to create some gradients. I know I can get smooth transitions if my paint is watery enough and doesn't dry too fast. Wet and dry also gives me more control over the edges, which I need right now because I want a hard edge on the right side where the strong highlight is. That edge is sharp for now, but we will soften it later using a scrubber brush. Notice that I'm also blending away some of the pink to create a lighter tone. This helps reflect what I see in my reference. H Normally, I might skip painting the bud next to it to avoid blending the two together. But this bud also has a highlight we want to preserve, and the left edge touching the previous bud has a very thin lighter edge. So I will carefully paint this one making sure not to touch the first bud. I'm starting this one with quinacrodon magenta, but I will be switching between magenta permanent rose and purples as I work. The goal here is to lay down the initial layer of basic colors on all the buds. We're focusing on capturing the general color and aiming for middle to light values. This bad gets slightly lighter at the bottom, so I will blend away some paint there to create a smooth tunnel transition from middle pink to a lighter shade. Of course, we need to keep in mind the strong highlight on the edges and leave those areas unpainted. The white of the paper will serve as the brightest highlight on the petals, which really helps convey the feel of strong natural sunlight. When the paint is wet, it looks more vibrant than when it dries. But don't worry about that. We will add another layer later, along with the details to boost saturation even more. Using clean colors will also help your painting look vibrant in the end, especially because of the green surroundings. Remember, green and pink are complimentary colors and placing them side by side creates a lively high contrast effect. Once you've applied the first layer, let everything dry completely. When you're ready, we can move on to the second layer. 9. Buds - Creating Petals: The initial layer on the buds is now completely dry. In the second layer, our goal is to start creating the petals. This time, I'm switching to a slightly smaller brush. I think a size eight will work fine. We'll also introduce a little bit of wet on wet painting here. Before we begin, let me explain what I'm going to do now. Imagine we have a bad like this and we've already applied the initial layer. To create a petal, there are two ways you can approach it. The first method is simply applying a darker color along the edge of the petal you want to define and then using a clean damp brush to blend that color inward, softening it into the rest of the bad while leaving the edge darker. And this definitely works and is a great technique. But I'm going to do it a bit differently with some wet on wet painting, which I feel is safer. First, I will apply a layer of clean water over the part of the area where the petal will be, but I will leave the edge I want to define dry. I won't apply my water layer up to the pencil line that defines the edge of the petal. Then I will paint the edge of this petal with color, allowing the paint to spread softly in the water. This way, I keep control over the edge shape because it's dry there and the water slows down drying, giving me more time to focus on shaping the petal's edge without rushing the blending. I hope that makes sense. For example, on this first petal, I'm applying water just on the left side. I'm not going up to the edge of the petal. I'm not going up to the pencil line that defines the edge of the petal. I'm picking up a purple mix of quinacrodon magenta and ultramarine blue, and I'm painting the petal's edge with this color. When the paint hits the water, it spreads gently, so I'm less worried about creating a hard edge there because I know the paint will spread in the water. I'm just focusing more on the edge of the petal on the shape that I want to create. This is a small area, so it might not be the clearest example, but we will repeat this technique in a few spots. I'm applying a water layer to the next petal, but I'm careful not to touch the petals edge or the previously painted area since we don't want any bleeding between shapes. I'm mixing a darker tone now using permanent rose, magenta and ultramarine blue and starting to paint the petals edge. Paint spreads softly over the water, creating a smooth gradient while I focus on shaping the edge. As you can see, I'm simplifying the petal shapes as well at this stage. The goal here is to establish the basic petal forms. Later, we will add details, deepen some shadows, and paint veins. Here I'm wetting the area and adding two darker spots on either side. This will suggest indentations while the lighter middle part will appear raised. I I will continue working this way on the other petals too. The process is always the same. First, a layer of water, then a darker edge painted in. The only difference is the shape I'm creating. So We can also deepen colors in some areas by applying additional paint. For instance, the smaller buds in the back will benefit from a second paint layer to make their colors stronger and more vibrant. When you finish creating all the petals, let everything dry completely. I'm using a hair dryer to speed up the drying process. If you do the same, just remember to wait a few minutes for the paper to cool down before painting again. Painting on warm paper causes the paint to dry too quickly, which can lead to unpleasant splotches. Once your paper is fully dry, we'll move on to adding the small details to the butts. M 10. Buds - Details: In this part, we'll focus on adding the final details to the bats and making some last adjustments. To add these details, I'll be using a size two liner brush, but you can also use a small round brush with a sharp point. Either will work just fine. What I want to do now is define the edges of the petals a little more clearly. I will darken the edges slightly to make them stand out and add some subtle veining. The veins might not be very visible in the reference photo, but I'm taking a bit of artistic license here. I love adding veins because they bring character to the petals, and more importantly, they help show the shape and form. The petals curl and bend. The direction of the veins is really important. By painting gently curved lines, we can suggest that lovely curled shape. This is also a great time to deepen colors where needed. Maybe darken some petals or shadows a bit more. Take a step back and look at your painting so far. How do the petals look compared to the sepels? Are there any areas you would like to deepen or adjust? Remember, this is your painting, not the reference photo. Nobody will be comparing the two. What matters most is that your painting feels right to you. Finally, I like to soften the edges of those hard shadows on the buds just like we did with the sepals earlier. Softening these edges helps convey that gentle glowing light around the buds. If needed, you can also lift out a bit of paint from the petals to create some subtle highlights. And with that, we finished working on the buds. In the next part, we'll start applying the first layer of paint to the flower itself. 11. Flower - Initial Layer: We're getting very close to finishing this lovely painting and I hope you still have some patience to paint the flower. Don't give up. I know this project can feel a bit demanding but isn't it beautiful. In this part, we'll apply an initial layer to the flower. This will serve as a nice base for the next step where we will add more details. Don't worry, this step isn't too difficult. At first glance, it might seem complex, but really all we're doing here is applying a simple layer of light purple. The only tricky part is placing the color in the right spots and creating the shapes carefully. But that's something we can take slow and steady. No need to rush. I'll be using a size eight brush for this step. Let's start by thinking about the color we will use. If we compare the flour to the buds, notice that the flower's color shifts more toward violet. It's also much lighter in tone. So since the flower leans more toward violet, I will add more ultramarine blue to my mix with quinacredon magenta, which I keep on the right side of my palate. For the lighter tone, I will add plenty of water to lighten the color. To check if the color is right, I will swatch it on a piece of paper and hold it over the painting to compare it with the buds. It's almost perfect, but I will add a touch more blue and swatch again. Now that looks like a good match, clearly different from the buds, but close to what I see in the reference photo. So this will be my mix. I will pick up that color and start applying it from top to bottom. At this stage, I'm not focusing on each individual petal. I'm treating the flower as one big shape, applying color in specific areas while leaving some spots unpainted for those lovely back lit highlights. I'm applying the violet mix wet and dry, mainly in the shadow areas, carefully painting around the white highlights. So areas are a bit more pink, so I will add a little bit more magenta or permanent rose there to introduce some variety. If some areas look more bluish, I will stick to my basic violet or add a bit more ultramarine blue. I'll slowly work my way down following the reference photo. If this helps, you can check out my work in progress photo to see exactly where I applied the paint. In some areas like this one, I've created a gentle gradient from dark to light by applying the paint and blending it upwards. There aren't many of these, but they add a nice subtle transitions. On the left side, the color looks a bit more pink because the petals reflect the bad colors shifting the shadows toward pink. The bottom petal and shadows on the right side are warmer and more pinkish as well. Uh Here on the bottom petal, I'm using my violet mix but adding permanent rose near the edge to shift the color. You might notice some water drops in the reference photo, but I've decided to leave those out. I'm also keeping the paint consistency quite watery throughout, which helps avoid any unwanted blooms and helps in blending the colors. The trickiest part is near the stamens. I chose not to mask them out since they are generally darker than the petals, so we can paint right over them. However, some parts are lighter because they catch some sunlight, so I will try to carefully paint around those areas. On the right, I will add more pink again. So There's also a small area where one petal casts a shadow, and we will add that shadow here. Later, we will use a scrubber brush to soften some edges and apply a very light wash to the petals, giving them a gentle tint of pink and violet. But for now, we're focusing just on the shadows. So here's the result after this first layer. Now let it dry completely, and in the next part, we will finish the petals by darkening some areas and adding the details. 12. Flower - Details: The first layer on the flour is completely dry now, so it's time to adjust some areas and add the finer details. For this, I'm switching to a smaller brush size four. This stage is a bit tricky to explain because there is a lot going on. Basically, I'm slowly revisiting all the shadows, comparing them closely with my reference photo. If I spot a detail I can add or a shadow that needs to be a bit darker, or if a color could use a subtle tweak, maybe more pink or a touch of blue. Exactly what I will do. These small adjustments and extra details really help bring the flower to life. For example, here I feel this area should be a little darker, so I'm adding more paint using the same colors as before. Over here, I want to deepen the shadow and shift the color slightly cooler. So I'm adding more bluish violet. After applying the paint, I'm blending it gently upward. As you can see, these are small changes, but they are crucial for building a realistic flower. We can't leave just one flat layer that would look lifeless. It's only by adding darker tones, details and subtle gradients where needed that the form of the flower really takes shape. Here I'm adding a darker tone to create depth in the center of the flower and to clearly separate the petals. A common mistake I often see in beginner paintings is outlining the petals to define them. In my opinion, that's not the best approach because in nature, petals usually don't have clear lines marking their edges with some exceptions. Instead to distinguish each petal, we rely on differences in tone or color. In this flower, the petals share the same colors, very similar colors, so we have to carefully use tunnel variations to show the individual petals and their folds. Oh. We can also suggest ruffled edges by adding a few defined lines along the petal edge. Apply some darker strokes and then soften one side with a clean de brush while keeping the other side sharp. This creates a nice illusion of texture. Now, let's take a look at the small fold on this petal. I will show you how to create it. First, I add a darker shadow underneath to make the fold stand out more clearly. Uh Then I paint a simple dark line along the fold, and after rinsing and blotting my brush, I gently blend the paint upward, leaving the lower edge sharp. This gives the impression of a little pocket in the petal. If we do similar step above and blend the paint, we get a nice subtle fold. Of course, this is a small detail. We don't have to paint this, but I think it adds interest, so why not? I'm also adding a few simple folds along the edge of the petal. These aren't in the reference photo, but sometimes it's fun to add details just because we can. Again, it's just a few darker strokes softly blended. It's very simple, not hyper realistic, but enough to make the flower look realistic. Next, I'm painting a faint line running through the middle of the petal with some short brass strokes branching out. This isn't something I see exactly in the reference. It's just adding a little texture to the petal. Here I feel this shadow needs to be a bit darker. So I'm applying one more layer here. Sorry that my camera missed it. I forgot to move my painting down a bit. Mixing burnt sienna with transparent yellow to create a warm, yellowish brown color for the flowers center. Maybe it's just me, but I noticed a very subtle yellow tone there, so I thought we could add it, but keep it very light and diluted. There's also a warmer shade just above. I'm taking a step back to look at the whole flower and spotting any areas that might need a little more color. It's important not to lose the whiteness of the paper entirely because that brightness creates strong sense of light, but the petals aren't pure white. Even in the brightest spots, a very subtle pink wash helps suggest their delicate color. Use a very diluted tea like consistency to tint the paper lightly in some areas. I Once everything is fully dry, we will do the last step, which is optional, but this is something I like to do whenever possible. I will use a scrubber brush to soften the hard edges of the shadows and maybe lift some paint to create highlights on the petals. I will speed up a bit this process because I'm repeating this along almost every hard edge. I really think it adds a beautiful softness and enhances that glowing light effect. I'm also lifting out a subtle highlight on this petal here. And with that, we are done with this part. In the next and final section, we'll finish the flour by adding the stamens and the yellow marks on the petals. 13. Stamens: Here we are in the final part of this tutorial. In this part, we will paint the stamens, which will truly bring this flower to life. The stamens will tie everything together and add character to the flower thanks to their dark anthers. These stamens are quite small and long, so I will be using a small brush size four. I'll also rotate my painting a little to make it easier to work on, but I will also rotate my camera so you can still see everything straight on. The first step is to apply the base color to the stamens. Some of them lean more pink, some more violet. I'll be using the same colors we've used so far. The anthers are quite dark, so I will apply color there as well. Later, we will add even darker tones to them. Some stamens and anthers have lighter areas and highlights. So try to leave those highlights unpainted or use a lighter tone in those spots. The main middle stamen has a more reddish tip. So here I will use a mix of yellow and rose or just quinacridon red to capture that reddish hue. Once all the stamens have their light base color, let's prepare a dark mix, combining quinacridon magenta, permanent rose, ultramarine blue, and paints gray. This will give us a nice deep purple, perfect for painting the anthers. Make sure the first layer is completely dry. Then carefully and calmly paint the anthers using the dark mixture. Start with a lighter tone and then gradually build up a darker tone. This layering creates subtle color variation even in these small areas. After applying the dark tone, rinse and blot your brush, then gently blend the color toward the main body of the stamen. Some stamens have soft gradients, others have sharper edges, so vary your blending accordingly. For the main red stamen, I'm using a mix of quinacridon magenta and transparent yellow. Once the darkest tones are added, the stamens may still look a bit pale. Now add a shadow along the bottom side of each stamen. This adds dimension to the round form and helps them stand out against a lighter background. Use darker tones on the left side near the center of the flower to create a strong illusion of depth. The last detail to add are the characteristic yellow marks on the petals. For this, use transparent yellow mixed with our purple mix. Yellow and purple are complimentary colors, and together they create brown perfect for these marks. Some marks are darker, so use a more brownish tone for those. Others in the highlighted areas will be more yellowish. And with these small marks, we can call this painting finished. Now it's time to sign the painting. Because the bottom right corner is dark green, I will use white gouache mixed with green gold and Windsor green to create a lighter opaque color that can show well over the dark background. If the green there was lighter, I would simply use a darker green for the signature. I think it turned out really well. The light on the petals is always fascinating to capture and quite impressive. That's why I like to choose reference photos with strong light. Paintings always look more interesting with it. After finishing, I will remove the masking tape to reveal a nice white border and clean edges around the painting. To remove the painting from the gator board, I always use a palette knife, sliding it under each staple and gently pulling them off. Finally, I cut out the margins with the staples, leaving a clean painting ready to scan and possibly frame. Let's now do a quick recap in the last video and summarize what we've learned. 14. Summary: Thank you so much for joining me in this watercolor painting tutorial. I hope you found it enjoyable and that it has inspired you to try this painting yourself. Let's take a moment to recap what we've covered throughout this project. We learned how to break the painting into smaller manageable sections, making it easier to approach a complex piece step by step without feeling overwhelmed. We explored how to capture beautiful light in the petals by leaving unpainted areas and softening hard edges of shadows to enhance the illusion of glowing light. We painted each element step by step, starting with an initial layer of light and mid tones, then deepening the colors and finally adding the details. Each layer had its own purpose, bringing us closer to a vibrant and realistic final result. We practiced patience by dividing the painting into smaller manageable sections and approaching it layer by layer. The subtle nuances and details gave us the opportunity to slow down and mindfully apply each brushstroke in a calm meditative process. I hope you enjoyed this process and feel inspired to paint this beautiful garden flower yourself. Thank you again for spending this time with me, and I wish you all the best in your artistic journey. Happy painting, goodbye and take care. Bye.