Painting Nature in Watercolor: Fuchsia

1. Intro: Hi everyone, and welcome to my Skillshare channel. In this class, I'll take you step-by-step through my entire process of drawing and painting a fuchsia flower. My name is Anna Cutino and I specialize in watercolor painting. I'm mostly inspired by nature and it's vivid colors. My favorite subjects to paint are birds, flowers, and extraordinary places. Before we start painting our project, I will show you a simple way of drawing a fuchsia flower from scratch, even without using a reference photo. If you want to skip the sketching process, you can simply trace my line drawing of the fuchsia, which you'll have access to in the resources section, along with the scan of my final painting and the supplies list. So let's get started. 2. Supplies: Let's go through all the supplies you'll need for this class. I've included the supplies list you can download in the resources section for easy reference. The first and most important thing you need is a good watercolor paper. I highly recommend using 100% cotton watercolor paper. I'll be using Arches watercolor paper. It's cold pressed and 300 GSM. The size of my paper is A4. You need some watercolor brushes. I'll be using round brushes in size 6 and 4, and a small spotter brush. As for watercolor paints, I'll be using permanent rose, dioxazine violet, opera rose, sap green, and then Winsor yellow and Winsor blue to mix with sap green and create warmer and cooler green mixtures. However, don't let my list limit you use it as a general recommendation. I included the outline for you in the resources section. You can download it, print it out, and either trace it using a light box or by holding it up to a window. Whether you're scheduled to fuchsia by hand or trace the outline I've prepared for you. You'll need a pencil and an eraser. I'll be using an HB pencil and a kneaded eraser and a plastic eraser. I usually use the kneaded eraser, for picking up excess graphite before I start painting. And the plastic eraser for erasing larger areas of drawing. For sketching the flower, and creating the outline, I'll use normal office paper, a pencil, and a black fine liner to highlight the final shape and make it well visible. For tracing onto the watercolor paper. You will need two water containers, one for clean water and one for cleaning your brushes. You'll need some paper tissues and an old towel or cotton kitchen towel. Last but not least, you'll need a paint palette or an old plate. 3. Drawing the Outline: In this lesson, I'm going to show you a simple way of drawing an accurate outline for a fuchisa flower. Fuchsia plants are often overflowing with flowers and the reference photos can get very busy. So I'm going to show you a simple step-by-step formula for drawing a fuchsia from memory whenever you want. Of course you don't have to sketch it by hand. You can simply download the line drawing from the resources section of this class. So basically what you need for this lesson is a pencil and a normal office paper and an eraser. I also use a black fine liner to highlight the outline and make it well visible. Because later I'm going to trace it onto my watercolor paper. Okay, let's get started. There are more than 100 fuchsia species and varieties. The one we're about to draw and paint is loosely inspired by Fuchsia Magellanica, which is sometimes also called hummingbird. Fuchsia. Its flowers consist of four outer petals. For inner petals, Up to eight stamens and a longer pistil. First you need to draw a long vertical line. Then draw a small oval on the vertical line so that the line runs exactly in the middle of the oval. Now measure the height of the oval and right under it draw a second slightly larger oval, about twice as high as the first one. Now we'll mark a section right under the two ovals that will be twice as high as the height of the two ovals combined. I'm not using a ruler. I just measure the height approximately Using the end of my pencil. Then I fill this section with a circle or an oval. First, I will show you the version using a circle. You can use a compass or you can simply freehand the circle, as you can see me doing here. Then divide the height of the circle into thirds and mark the third on the vertical line. Draw a shape reminding of a triangle with rounded edges. The top of it, we'll touch the upper edge of the circle. And the height of the triangle should be about two-thirds of the height of the circle. Use the third marks as a guide. This shape represents the inner petals. Let's say we can see two of the inner petals and the other two are not visible to us. So while divide the shape to create two petals. One drop shaped in the front and the other one is partially covered by the front one. Now make a mark on the vertical line, almost at the top of the large circle. And from this point, draw two lines that will help us form the outer petals. Okay, let's refine the shapes now. I'm using my fine liner so you can see it better. Start a few centimeters above the small oval to form the stem. Continue downwards following the shapes of the ovals. Pay attention to the angles. I'm using a continuous line and very gentle angles. Try avoiding any sharp angles in this upper part of the flower. Then follow the shape of the circle to form the outer edge of the outer petals. Refine the inner edge of the petal into a more organic shape. It shouldn't be a straight line. Continue to the other side in the same way and finish up on the stem again. Now divide the stem from the tube. Outline the inner petals, just the visible parts that aren't covered by the outer petals. Now you can see me erasing the guiding pencil lines, scheduled a pistil and the stamens, the height of the best deal will be about as high as the original guiding circle was. The statements will be a bit shorter than the pistil pistil. Draw a tiny round shape at the end of each of them. Now outline the pistil and stamens into their final shape. Add another outer petal, partially obscured by the petals in the front. Let's say in this case we can't see the fourth battle at all, so I'm not going to draw it. And at this point we have the first flower finished. Now I'm going to show you how to draw the fuchisa using an oval. All the steps are the same as in the first case. I'll just switch the big circle or an oval. The height of the big oval is twice the height of the two small ovals combined. This version is suitable for , narrower, more closed flowers. Keep in mind that the ratios of the ovals, to circles and other shapes aren't set in stone. This is just a basic guide and you can tweak it as you need. The proportions of different parts of the future flower vary from species to species, and flower to flower. And of course, the proportions also change within the same flower in different stages of its growth. The petals can be smaller, the pistil and stamens shorter, the stem can be longer, and so on. You can use a reference photo and base the proportions on that particular fuchsia. So just keep practicing and experimenting. Now let's sketch some flower buds. draw another vertical line, then draw the two small ovals like before. And then a third oval, which is only slightly bigger. In this case, the third oval is about twice as high as the second one. Then the refined the outline and create a pointed tip at the bottom, and that's it. Now we'll sketch some simple leaves. Fuchsias have lanceolate leaves, meaning they are narrow and tapering to a point at each end. To draw individual leaves, I usually start with the center line. It's a good idea to give the line a bit of a curve. Don't make it completely straight. And then draw the two sides of the leaf pointed at both ends. If you want to, you can also draw some veins. However, in this project, I'm going to leave them out. To draw a leaf from a side view. I'll start with the same curved line and then I add just one side of the leaf. And here you can see me drawing tomorrow leaves in different angles using the same shape of the central line. As the final step of this lesson, I'll briefly demonstrate how I put together the whole composition. The fuchsia plant has a long stem extending in a horizontal arc with the leaves growing in pairs or in groups of three or five. It's at the point where the pairs of leaves grow out of the stem, that the thinner stems hang that hold the flowers and buds. I decided that in my sketch there will be two of these points from which the leaves and flowers grow. I mark the points on the horizontal line. Then I roughly sketched the placement of the flower and the buds. I add a pair of leaves to each of the points and leaves at the very end of the stem. Once I'm happy with the composition, I outline the flower using a fine liner. And then I trace it onto my watercolor paper using an HB pencil. Now it's time to move on to painting the fuchsia in watercolor. 4. Tips & Techniques: Before we start painting our project, I'd like to briefly explain some of the techniques I'll be using. First of all, we're going to paint the flower in two layers. In the first layer, we establish the lightest tones. And in the second layer we deepen the values and add detail. Layering gives us a controlled method for adding tonal values gradually and also for correcting tone in case part of our painting is to light. As for technique, I'll use wet-on-wet technique most of the time, meaning I will moisten the area I'm going to paint first and then I add the colors to the wet area before it dries. In some cases, I'll use the wet-on-dry technique where I'll apply wet paint onto dry paper or onto an area of dry paint. I usually use this technique for painting smaller areas. To create the veins on the two leaves. I'm going to use negative painting. It's a technique where we define an object by painting around it. So in this case, in the second layer, I paint the veins by applying paint around them. To create lighter areas on an already applied wash, I use a technique called lifting. While the surface of the paper is still actively wet, I take a clean, damp brush and press it firmly to the surface. I pull the brush in one clean breaststroke, cleaning and dabbing the brush again on a paper tissue, I repeat the process going through the same line to lift more paint. When needed. We can also lift paint using a clean paper tissue. That's very useful when we make a mistake. We can, for example, lift an unwanted droplet of paint. Notice how in the next example, I pulled the brush outside of the rectangle and it left a stain behind. This is due to the brush also picking up paint as it's drawn through. So when I went to maintain the edge of the rectangle, I pulled the brush upwards at the end of the brush stroke. To add some organic structure to the leaves, I'll use a technique called watercolor bloom. It refers to these irregular marks created by adding very wet paint or clean water into an area that drier than our brush, but not completely dry. This can happen by mistake, but in this case we're going to create them deliberately. I'll show you what the effect looks like when created in three different stages of wetness of the paper. First, I lay down a wash of paint. In the side view you can see three different stages of wetness of the paper. Then I dip my brush in water and I attach it to the paper where I want to create the Bloom. As you can see, the dryer, the paper, the more defined the edges of the bloom. In the first case where the paper was wet the effect is hardly visible. The second example where the paper was damp is usually the optimal outcome that I'm aiming for in my painting. In the third example, the paper was almost dry and blooms are small with very sharp edges. 5. First Layer: Okay, so in this lesson, I'm going to paint the first layer of the Fuchsia. As you know, I don't have a reference photo for this painting because I drew it from scratch. So I had to decide myself where the light source is situated and where the light is coming from. And I decided that the light source is in the top-right corner. This will determine the placement of the highlights and shadows. All the highlights will be in the top right side of the objects and the shadows will be in the opposite corner. I begin by applying clean water to these two outer petals and to the so-called tube. I'm using my brush number 6. You can see the area I'm moistening highlighted in the black and white picture in the bottom right corner of your screen that I switch to my number 4 brush and I start adding permanent rose. I use the tip of my brush to take the paint right to the edge. I always keep in mind the direction of the light source. And I leave a white area on the right side of the tube. And on the top right side of the battles. Then I add a more concentrated permanent rose to the left side of the left petal. This is the side opposite to the light source, which I want a bit darker. I clean up the edges where necessary using the tip of my brush. I also add a drop of opera rose to increase vibrancy of the red. I like the white highlights to be a bit more distinct. So I take a clean, slightly damp number four brush and I lived some of the pain that spread a bit too much in there. I repeat the prosses, always cleaning and dabbing my brush between brushstrokes. Then I load my brush with permanent rose and I start painting the flower about that more in the foreground. This time, I'm painting on dry paper. I'll leave white highlight on the right side and I carefully soften the hard edges of the paint using a clean, slightly damp brush. Denialist some of the paint to make the highlight a little bit larger. Now I allow it to dry completely. I check if the paper is completely dry and as it is, I can start painting the second flower, but repeating the same process. Then I paint the remaining outer battle on the main flower. Again, I'm painting on dry paper. Next, I glazed the right inner petal with clean water using my number 4 brush. You can see the soft sheen of the wet paper in the side view. I start applying dioxazine violet to the bottom half of the petal. I used a rather pigmented mix and it is now rather too dark for the first layer. But never mind, I'll leave it like this. Then I load my brush with opera rose and I drop it onto the upper half of the petal. The two colors will slightly merge in the middle. Now I start painting the leaves and moisten the first section of the branch with the two leaves and the stem of the flower. You can see the entire wet area in the side view. And I start painting the branch and the stem with green using mice photograph. Then I switch to my number 4 brush loaded with sap green, and I start painting the leaves. I paint carefully around the edges to make them nice and clean. Using the spotter brush, I add more pigment. It makes up sap green to the left side of this oval part of the stem and to the bottom edge of the branch. Then I pick up a yellow green mix of sap green and Winsor yellow and I add a drop of it to the upper leaf. Next I load my brush with the cooler mix, sap green and Winsor blue, and I add it to the left side. I wait until the paint settles a bit into the paper and starts drying. And then I add a drop of clean water to both of the leaves to create a watercolor bloom, giving the leaves small structure and interest. While the first section of the branch is drying, I paint the second inner petal using a diluted dioxazine violet. I'm painting on dry paper here as it is a small area and I manage to fill it with paint quickly. Just make sure the other petal is completely dry to avoid any unwanted bleeding of paint between the two petals. Then I use a more pigmented mix of violet. And I added to the right side of the still wet petal to imply a slight shadow where the two petals overlap. Now I repeat the process using the spotter brush While the petals dry, I go back to painting the branch. I glaze the second section of the branch, and these two leaves with clean water. You can see the wet area. Repeating the same process I did with the first section. I fill the wet area with sap green. Now, you don't have to always pre-wet the area. If you paint really quickly, you can paint on dry paper using a very watery sap green. I like painting wet on wet because it gives me the advantage of more time. It's easier for me to create an even surface. when painting wet-on-wet. Next I add some volume by painting the green stems of the flower buds with a more pigmented sap green on the shadow side, and leaving small highlights on the side closer to the light source. I also add more pigment it sap green to the lower edge of the branch. You can see me lifting the highlights with a clean, damp spotter brush. I add a drop of yellow green mix to the still wet leaves, as well as some of the blue-green mix to add some interests. I don't have a reference photo for these paintings, so I add these color variations rather following my feeling and generally following the direction of the light source. So closer to the light source, I add yellow, green, and further from the light source, I add blue-green. Now I go back to the flower and I start painting the pistil and the stamens. I'm using my spotter brush and I'm painting with permanent rose on dry paper. I really small highlights on the round shapes at the bottom of the stamens and the pistil. While it's still wet, I create a volume by adding more pigment on the left side of the pistil and the stamens, that means the side opposite the light source. To complete the first layer, I'm using watery sap green on a previously moistened surface. You can see in this Now let it dry completely. 6. Second Layer: Making sure that the paper is completely dry, I erase all the visible pencil lines. And then I start painting the second layer. You can see me painting the part of this leaf that's closer to me by applying sap green on dry paper. And then I add a drop of the blue-green mix. I'm going to leave the further part of the leaf as it is with just one layer. Now, I'm going to paint the second layer on this leaf, making sure I leave dry space in the middle, representing the midrib of the leaf. So first, I paint one half of the leaf applying watery sap green on dry paper. And then I paint the other half, leaving a thin dry line in the middle. This is called negative painting, and we've just created the vein by actually painting around it. While the paint is still wet, I add a drop of the blue-green and also the yellow green to add some variation and interest. Now I repeat the process with this leaf. Sap green on dry paper. Dry line in the middle, some blue-green spots. And then I clean up the edge using my spotter brush. Next I paint this leaf. I'm applying sap green on dry paper. And then I'm adding the yellow green and darker green. I clean up the edge and define the stem of the leaf. Now I'm glazing the outer petals. We clean water as well as the pink tube from which they're growing. And I start adding more pigmented permanent rose from the left side. Still keep it in mind where the light source is. some highlights. And I dropp in some opera rose to increase vibrancy in this area. Some of the paint with a clean damp brush to redefine the highlight. I clean up the edges using my spotter brush. Now I move to the flower buds and apply a glaze of clean water through the one on the left-hand side. Using my spotter brush, I add a more concentrated mix of permanent rose to the left side. Then I soften the edge with a clean, slightly damp brush. While the flower but is drying, I moisten the last section of the branch and I painted with sap green, again, adding a drop of blue green too. And while it is still wet, I add the cool green to the lower edge of this brand section. I check if the flower bud is dry and as it is, I can start working on the other one. So I moisten it. And then I apply a more pigmented permanent rose to the left side. Then I let some paint to emphasize the highlight on the right side. Now you can see me painting using permanent rose on dry paper. The previously painted petals must be completely dry to avoid unwanted color bleeds. Next, I glazed inner petal with clean water. I apply opera rose to the whole petal. And then I add some violet to the lower part of the petal. And imply a very soft shadow created by the outer petals covering the inner one. At this point, I recommend letting it dry to avoid smudging the petals with your hand as we move to painting the branch. However, if you're very careful, you can continue painting without letting the petals dry. Okay, So the branch now I moisten the first section and the stem of the flower. Then switching to my spotter brush, I start applying darker green to the bottom edge of the branch and to the left side of the stem. I add even darker green to the round bottom of the stem in the parts that are in the shadow, emphasizing its volume and roundness. Next, I lay down a thin layer of water to the second section of the branch and to the stems of the two flower buds. And I repeat the process, adding darker green to the bottom edge of the branch, to the left side of the stems, and forming the round shape of the lower parts of the stems. The very last step of our project is to add second layer to the left in a battle. So I glaze the petal with clean water and I start adding a concentrated mix of violet to the right side where this petal is covered by the other inner petal. So it is actually a suggestion of a cast shadow. Then I switch to my spotter brush and I apply an even darker shade of violet to the shadow area. And this is it. Our fuchsia is complete. Now, it's time to let the painting dry completely. 7. Final Thoughts: I hope you enjoyed drawing and painting the fuchsia with me and that you learned something new. I would love to see what you are able to create in this class. So don't forget to upload your projects to the project section. I would also love to read your feedback on this class so I can keep on improving my class is for you. Thank you again for joining me and I'll see you next time.