Water Lily in Watercolors: Creating a Serene Masterpiece

1. Introduction: Hello and welcome to my tutorial on painting the enchanting water lily. In this guide, we will explore the serene beauty of this captivating flower. We will pay close attention to its delicate pink petals as they open in the sunlight, revealing a beautiful dense of light across their surfaces. As our water lily rests gracefully on a tranquil water surface, we will explore how to capture its reflection, surrounded by lily pads that provide a natural and harmonious backdrop. Using the wet on wet technique, we'll create a soft, blurry background that evokes a sense of calmness and tranquility, allowing the viewer to feel as if they are peering into a peaceful pond. This technique will not only set the mood for our painting, but it will also serve as a foundational element for the rest of our work. Throughout the tutorial, you will learn a variety of essential techniques designed to capture the intricate details of the water lily and its surroundings. We'll focus on layering colors to achieve depth and realism, exploring how to build shadows and highlights that breathe life into our petals. Additionally, we will delve into the beautiful light effects that give the petals their luminous quality, helping you understand how to create that ethereal glow that makes water lilies so captivating. While painting a water lily may seem daunting at first, I assure you it's a rewarding process filled with joy and creativity. Together, we will break it down into manageable steps, making it easy to follow as we build your artwork layer by layer. With patience and practice, you will discover that you possess the skills needed to bring this beautiful flower to life on your paper. So gather your art supplies, take a deep breath, and prepare to embark on this peaceful artistic journey. Let the beauty of nature inspire your work as we dive into the art of painting the water lily. 2. Project and Resources: 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 the 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 you prefer the most. 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, beautiful painting. Please 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 our 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. Mindset and Painting Plan: If you are drawn to this water li's beauty but feel it might be beyond your skill level, I would like to help you shift your mindset, not just for this painting, but for any artwork you approach in the future. I'm not a fan of assigning difficulty levels to paintings in the usual sense. My view on levels is a bit different. I believe that beginner, intermediate and advanced levels are more about the time and patience a painting requires than the techniques involved. Let me explain. If you know basic techniques like wet on dry and wet on wet, the difficulty of painting often comes down to how much time you're willing to dedicate. We use the same techniques across all paintings, so there is nothing inherently difficult about them. The real challenge lies in patients. Think of it this way. If you can paint a single tulip, you can paint a whole bouquet. While a bouquet may seem like a more advanced project. It's simply made up of multiple tulips. The difference is only in the time needed, not in the complexity of techniques. While we're dealing here with a more complex subject because we have many tulips to paint, it all boils down just to the time you have to invest in this painting. You can paint one tulip, you can also paint ten tulips in a bouquet. I encourage you to adapt this mindset. For instance, with this water lily, though it has many petals, each one is painted using just wet on wet and wet on dry techniques. There is nothing unusual here. You simply repeat the same process for each petal, focusing on color and tonal values. This and other tutorials, I aim to break each painting into smaller manageable sections, showing you the order of layers step by step. If you follow along patiently, I'm confident that even as a beginner, you'll be able to complete it. The background in this painting might feel a bit challenging due to its large area, but large backgrounds can be tricky for everyone, not just for beginners. So if you're a beginner, then don't worry about it. So if you're worried, it might be beyond your level. Let me reassure you, it's absolutely suitable for beginners as long as you have enough patients. This won't be a painting you complete in one sitting, and you don't have to. I want you to enjoy the process, relax, take a moment for yourself, and immerse in the joy of painting. In the end, whenever that may be, you will have a beautiful water lily painting you can feel proud of. If you tend to be impatient, take breaks along the way. In between, you can paint something quick and fun, anything that brings you joy. Return to this painting when you're ready. Remember, there is no need to hurry. There are no deadlines, nobody's chasing you, and there is no need to finish this or any other painting in one day. To make things easier, we will break down this painting into smaller sections, focusing on one part at a time. This tutorial is divided into short segments, some a bit longer due to the time we will spend repeating the same process on multiple petals. Here is how we will divide this painting. Background, including the water, the blurry background, and the soft lily pads on the right side, lily pad in the bottom left corner, reflection of the lily in the water, petals divided into stages, first, the main body of each petal, followed by the curled edges. And the center, the beautiful glowing yellow center with its delicate yellow stamens. This is a truly enjoyable project, featuring lovely warm colors and a serene composition. I hope you will enjoy every moment of it. Now, let's begin with the first step, masking the main subject. 4. Masking the Petals: I already have my pencil sketch ready. I printed out my line drawing in 12 by nine size and used a light pad to trace the image onto my watercolor paper. I usually use arches, cold press paper, but I recently ran out and decided to try a different brand. And this is my second painting on Bao hung paper. And to be honest, its quality is excellent. I can't see any difference between this paper and arches, and Bahung is a bit cheaper. So if you're looking for an alternative, this could be a great choice. I stapled the paper to my Gator board and taped it on all four sides to create a nice clean border around the painting when it's finished. I didn't wet the paper. It's dry straight from the block, and after making the drawing, I also used a needed eraser to lighten the sketch and remove any excess graphite. Before starting a painting, I always consider whether to mask the main subject or not. In this case, the petals have fairly simple shapes, so we could paint around them easily. However, because we want to use horizontal brush strokes to convey the impression of water, I thought it would be easier to mask the petals. Don't know how about you, but I always feel less stressed if I mask the main subject, so I can focus only on painting the background without worrying about painting around the main subject carefully. For masking, I will be using Windsor Newton masking fluid with a yellow tint. I will also need an old cap, a piece of soap, a brush dedicated to applying masking fluid and water. Pour some masking fluid into an old cup or any small container and close the battle right away to prevent oxygen from creating clumps in the bottle. Dip your brush in water and rub it on the soap until you get a nice protective coat on the bristles. The soap will protect the bristles from sticking together after contact with the masking fluid. Now we can dip the brush in the masking fluid and start applying it to our subject. In the class resources, you will find an illustration showing exactly where to apply masking fluid. As you can see, the masking is applied along the edges of the flour and on the statements. You can apply masking to both areas at this stage, or you can split the process by masking the statements later. Personally, I will apply masking only to the edges at this stage in the areas marked with pink. Later, when we start painting the flower, I will mask the statements, but feel free to mask both areas now if you prefer. If you decide to mask everything at this stage, here are two tips. First, make sure the two masked areas do not touch. Later we will need to remove the masking from the petal edges while keeping the masking on the stamens. If the masking fluid connects the two areas, you won't be able to remove it from the petals only without also pulling it from the stamens. Leave a small gap between them. Secondly, I highly recommend masking the stamens first and then the petals. Masking the center first allows you to apply masking to the petals more easily without worrying about the center. If you mask the petals first, you would need to wait for it to dry completely before masking the stamens to avoid smudging, which makes it harder to mask the stamens accurately. This may seem like a small tip, but it's quite helpful in practice, especially if you're a bit impatient. All right, let's get back to masking. I may have rumbled a bit, but I know that sometimes these simple tips can be really helpful, especially if you've never used masking fluid before. Now, when working on a shape like this petal, where the edge is very smooth, it's best to keep your bash at around 40, 45 degree angle and run it along the edge, holding the bristles parallel to it, not perpendicular, but parallel. This is crucial for achieving smooth, long edges. Make sure you're generous with the masking fluid. Don't be too frugal here, as the layer of masking should be thick enough to protect those areas well. A thicker layer will also make it easier to remove later. Continue applying the masking fluid and from time to time, rinse your brush and reapply soap. I didn't record every petals masking process. I simply applied it around the flour. Here's how it looks when I'm finished. The masking fluid is still wet in some areas, so I won't start painting until it's completely dry. Let it dry thoroughly, and once it's dry, we can start painting the background. 5. Background - First Layer: Once the masking fluid is completely dry, we can start painting the background. I'll be using a size 12 brush. Let's prepare some colors. I'll start with ultramarine blue mixed with Windsor blue. Ultramarine blue is a warm blue, while Windsor blue is a cool blue. When we mix them, we get a neutral blue, which I think will be great for the water. I'll also be using ultramarine blue to create a light purple on the petals, which will help keep a harmonious color palette between the flower and the background. Both Windsor blue and ultramarine blue will also serve to create turquoise shades in the background when mixed with greens. For green, I'll be using my two favourite greens, green gold and Windsor green. When mixed, they create a vibrant green similar to sub green. In the upper part, I will mix Windsor green with ultramarine blue to achieve a deep turquoise. We'll also need a deep dark green, which we can create by mixing green gold with Windsor green and pains gray. These are the colors we'll be using for the background. I prefer to paint from left to right, if possible. So my plan is to start with the blue water on the left, then move clockwise around the water lily, finishing on the right side with the lily pad. I'll take a break after the dark shadow and complete the water on the right side. I'm going to paint using the wet on dry technique. Load your brush with a watery mixture of our blue and start applying it on the left side. Since we'll be painting wet and dry, we need to use a very watery paint. This will allow the colors to blend on the paper and create smooth transitions. Most importantly, watery paint will prevent us from getting hard edges. If the paint is too dry, it will dry quickly on the paper, and hard edges will show up immediately. Diluted paint ensures that the edges remain wet longer, giving us time to reel out the brush with more paint and continue painting without creating hard edges. You may be wondering why we are painting wet on dry and not wet on wet at this stage. You can paint wet on wet if you prefer. That's not a problem. I chose wet on dry because I plan to apply two layers, and wet on dry typically dries quicker than wet on wet. The second reason is that when painting wet and dry, the colors will remain more saturated once dry compared to the wet on wet technique. When using wet on wet, the paint tends to dilute more on the paper and dries paler. This time, I want to start with stronger colors right away. The third reason is based on my experience, I know that I can manage this area using the wet on dry technique without getting hard edges. If this area was larger and I intended to paint it in just one layer, I would likely choose wet on wet. But in this case, I know I can handle it with a large brush. Besides if I make any mistakes, I will cover them with the second layer. I'm using horizontal brush strokes to mimic the horizontal surface of the water. The masking is very helpful here because I don't have to worry about the petal shapes. With a clean de brush, I'm lifting a little bit of paint to create a lighter blue tone. As I move upward, I'm shifting the color to turquoise. Now using a wet brush, I'm smoothing out this color. I'm leaving more water at the edge to keep it wet. This gives me some time to come back to the area I've just painted and add any necessary details. For example, I want to drop in a darker blue tone with additional paints gray. The edge of the paint above will remain wet. So when I return to it, I can continue painting without forming hard edges. When you're painting, try to keep the paint consistency the same throughout. If you want to add more paint to some areas that are already painted, the new paint should have the same consistency as the one on the paper or be slightly thicker, but never more diluted. You apply more diluted paint by adding more water, a bloom will occur unless, of course, you want to create a bloom, then it's perfectly fine. But if you want to maintain smooth colored transitions, you need to use the same paint consistency throughout this process. I would describe my consistency as milky, runny, and very easy to move on the palette with no resistance under the brush. And In the upper right corner, I'm applying tinged water first. The water isn't clean anymore, but that's fine. I want to create a lighter area that shouldn't be perfectly white. The only white areas will be on the petals, which will create the illusion of strong light. I'm starting with the brightest and cleanest color, which is my green on the lily pad in the back. Then I'm adding more greens and blues around it. I'm not trying to perfectly recreate the reference photo because that's impossible and even unnecessary. The reference photo just provides information on where to place each color more or less. I can follow it, but I can also change it as I like. We have the freedom to play around with the shapes and colors. Don't feel that if you don't recreate the reference photo exactly, your painting will look bad. It will look good and viewers will not compare your painting with the reference. They will only see your finished work. Notice that I'm focusing mainly on the distribution of colors. I know there are separate lily pads, but we will create that separation in the second layer. At this stage, we just want to create a roadmap of colors placing them where they should be. We can finish on the lily pad on the right and then skip to the water below. I'm again mixing ultramarine blue with Windsor blue in a clean area of my palette. I want to keep this color clean without the addition of any greens, so I had to clean that part of the palette to prepare the blue. Paint this blue corner carefully around the reflection in the water. We can go over the dark shadow above because we will later cover that overlap with a dark paint. After applying the blue, we can rinse and blot the brush and with a clean de brush, try to lift off a few lighter spots. We can also drop in some darker blue close to the reflection and add a few stripes. M After finishing this blue corner, we can leave everything to dry. So this is our first layer. It will dry paler, but that's fine. We will deepen the colors in the second layer. Now, leave this to dry completely. After about five to 10 minutes, you may try to dry it with a hair dryer. But if you do, please don't paint right away. Give it even more time to dry naturally. We apply the second layer, the first one and the paper underneath must be completely dry. When you're ready, we will move on to the next part. 6. Background - Second Layer: The first layer is now completely dry. The colors are quite fine in some places, but the second layer will make them deeper and more vibrant. On the right hand side, I'm drawing the shape of the li pads to ensure I know where to apply the dark shadow. I think we can actually start with the dark shadow. It's a good idea to establish the darkest tones as soon as possible as they provide a reference point for other tunnel values. Those shadows are darkest elements in the background. And if we paint them, it will quickly become apparent that other parts of the background are too pale. So using a dark bluish color, paint those shadows wet on dry. The specific color doesn't really matter. It's mainly paints gray with some ultramarine blue and certainly some green from the palette. As long as we are working with the same colors consistently, it's all good. What matters more is how light or dark the color is. Now, let's dry those dark areas with a hair dryer and allow a few minutes for the paper to cool down and return to room temperature. If we start painting too quickly while the paper is still heated, the paint will dry too quickly on the paper, making it difficult to paint. In the meantime, we can prepare more colors for the second layer. We will not be using anything new. I just want to make sure that I have enough paint on the palette. We will have a mix of ultramarine blue and paints gray, green gold on the bottom left. And a turquoise mix of Windsor green and ultramarine blue. You might ask why my turquoise is not a mix of Windsor green and windsor blue. And that's a good question. That mix creates a very powerful turquoise. In this case, it's just a matter of taste and what I think will look better. The turquoise in the photo is slightly muted down. Using ultramarine blue, which is a warm shade of blue, the turquoise is automatically muted. Think of it as mixing green with blue, but with a little bit of red added. Of course, there is no red in the mix, but ultramarine blue leans towards red more than Windsor blue. Now, because this is the second layer, we don't want to disturb the previous one too much. When we apply water, we have to do this quickly without rubbing the brush for too long. That's why a big brush is best for this. Here I have an old flat brush that I got as a gift a long time ago. And I also have a big squirrel brush. You may know this type of brush. It's very soft and popular among watercolists. Will use this big flat brush just to cover the background quickly with water. Of course, you can use your regular brush too. I just happened to have this one, so I will use it. Another option would be to spray the background with clean water, and this would be even better because we wouldn't touch the paper with the brush at all. But let's do it the traditional way. So dip your brush in water and try to cover the background with as few brush strokes as possible. I won't cover the blue area on the left because I'm not going to apply more blue to that area. My water layer on the left is applied up to that blue area and on the right up to the upper dark shadow. I tried to show you how much water I have. The surface is covered evenly with a high shen on the paper, but there are no pales of water or excess water. Now that the surface is wet, we have some time to apply more colors. If you find that the paint is spreading too much, you can either wait a little bit or use slightly more concentrated paint. Apply the same colors as in the previous layer in places where you think you want to darken. I'm trying to paint around that light area in the upper right. If the paint spreads too much, we can always lift it out with a clean damp brush. On the left side of the lily pad, I'm adding darker color. We can also gently lift out paint to create lighter spots. However, we will work on those spots in the next part when everything is completely dry. For now, I just want to lift off some paint here and there to suggest lighter tones. I'm applying a dark blue on the left side of the shadow and partially on the lily pad to create a connection between them. Now with the same flat brush, we can apply water to the second li pad and add more colors to it. I'm preparing a mix of ultramarine blue and Windsor green. As you can see on the palette, we have an analogous color scheme, ranging from green to blue. As long as we stay within that range, it doesn't really matter which colors we use because they all create a harmonious composition. We should be more concerned about how light or dark those colors are. The second layer of paint doesn't have to be darker in tone than the first one. We're using the same paint consistency and similar tunnel values, but it appears darker on the paper because of the buildup of layers. Notice how nicely all those colors interact with each other and blend together thanks to the wet on wet technique. Tricky part is to maintain the same paint consistency while finding that sweet spot between the paint consistency and the wetness of your paper. After examining the background, I noticed that the blue in the bottom right corner is a bit pale in comparison to the left side, so I decided to apply another layer of blue. I cleaned a small space to prepare fresh colors, and with a mix of ultramarine blue and Windsor blue, I'm applying a blue layer using the wet on dry technique. Now again with a clean damp brush, I'm trying to lift off some paint to create lighter passages. I switched to a smaller brush. It's a size six to have more control and create smaller stripes. And with that, we can finish this part. Now leave everything to dry completely, and in the next part, we will finish the background. 7. Lifting Out: Now that everything is completely dry, I can see that the dark shadows are not dark enough. Before I start lifting out the paint, let me apply another dark layer here. If you find your shadows too pale, feel free to add one more layer of greenish blue. Once that's done, let's quickly dry it with a hair dryer. What I'm planning to do now is create those lighter spots you can see in the finished painting. The reference photo has lighter areas where the shapes are very blurry and light bounces of them, which we can replicate easily. We don't even need a scrubber brush for this. Instead, use a regular round brush, and I'm using a size six. Dip your brush in water, remove the excess, and wet a small area from where you want to lift out the paint. Using a circular motion with the brush, create those circles and then lift out the paint by dabbing it with a clean paper towel. This method should work effectively. Green is a color that lifts easily, so we don't need a stiffer scrubber brush. A soft brush will also yield a softer look for those spots. I'm doing this on the edge of the lily pad and in a few places above to replicate what I see in the reference photo. Remember, nobody will see your reference, so it doesn't have to be exact match. Your painting should stand on its own without direct comparison to the reference. I believe this is enough to create a convincing background for this beautiful water lily. Keep in mind that the main subject of this painting is the lily, so we don't need to add too much detail to the background. By keeping it simple, we will draw attention to the main subject, which is the lily that will require more detailed work. Now let's move on to painting the lily pad in the bottom left. Oh I 8. Lily Pad: In this section, we will focus on the lily pad in the bottom left corner. Painting this area is straightforward, but notice the variety of colors involved. We'll be using the wet on dry technique so ensure your paints are well diluted and runny. Let's start with a light version of turquoise. It can be challenging to pinpoint the exact color and the proportions of green and blue I mixed. I'm simply picking up what I have on my palette that I believe will work well here, something light green with a hint of blue. For this, I'm using a size 12 brush. Next time adding a bit more ultramarine blue near the petal. As I've noticed a hint of blue in that area. I'll continue working with various greens. Mute the color a bit and achieve more of an olive or moss green, I'm adding a touch of burnt sierra into my mix. I also see some pink tones, so I'm adding a little bit of permanent rose as well. This reflects the petals color. It's perfectly fine if the pink mixes with the green. It will just create a more subtle look, subtle pink, or even a brown hue. To achieve a stronger yellowish green, I will add Windsor yellow to my green mix. As you can see, I'm using many colors, reacting to what I observe in the reference. Since my paint consistency is quite watery, I can easily change colors, allowing them to blend seamlessly on the paper. If my paint was drier, I might encounter hard edges while mixing different colors. Now I've switched to a smaller brush size six to introduce a darker green tone. I'll paint some stripes that mimic the irregular surface of the li pad, imagining that they radiate from its center. I've noticed that the very corner has too much green, so I will use a large clean damp brush to lift out some paint and create a lighter tone. After each sweep, I will rinse and blot my brush to ensure it's clean for the next pass. This way, I won't just be dragging paint around. I can also remove paint from other areas to create additional lighter highlights. Now, let's dry everything. Once dry, we can prepare a darker blue by mixing ultramarine blue with paints gray to paint tiny shadows on the water above the lily pad. Next, we will need to paint cast shadow. To create an olive green tone, I will mix burnt sienna with green gold and windsor green and then darken it with paints gray. Using this dark green, I will paint the shadow shape underneath the petal of the lily. On the right side of the shadow, I will drop in some permanent rows for added depth. After applying the base shadow, I will pick up a darker green tone and drop it in just beneath the petals. Notice how I've simplified this area. While there are tiny details in the corner, they are not crucial to the overall painting. I've just intentionally left a lighter spot to suggest sunlight filtering through the petals. Using a smaller brush, I can lift out a bit of paint in lighter areas to introduce variety in tonal values within the shadow. This technique creates a nice effect and suggests the reflective quality of the lily pad surface. Now, let's dry everything. At this point, the background is complete. If you feel your lily pad is too pale, feel free to apply another layer. I contemplated adding one more layer, but ultimately I decided against it. In the next part, we'll begin painting the reflection of the lily in the water. 9. Reflection - First Layer: In the next four parts of this tutorial, we will paint the reflection of the lily in the water. I've divided this process into four manageable sections for clarity. Let's start by cleaning the palette as we'll be using a completely different set of colors. This is also a good time to change the water. We'll begin by preparing permanent rose, which will be our main pink for the lily and its reflection. Next, let's mix permanent rose with ultramarine blue using more ultramarine than permanent rose. This will create a purple that we will need to mute down further by adding burnt sienna, resulting in a nice, less saturated purple that we can shift more towards pink or blue as needed. Now, take a milky consistency of permanent rose and begin applying it from the left side where there is a light pink spot. On the right, we have a strong pink petal, so let's apply pink there as well. Here I think we need to introduce a touch of quinacrodon magenta, which is a cooler shade of pink. At the tip of that petal, there is a hint of yellow. So let's add a little bit of Indian yellow or any other warm yellow in that area. Fill in the rest of the petal with our muted purple. Use this purple on the other petals as well, applying more blue where the color shifts toward the blue shades. Okay. Dropping stronger colors under the petals for added depth. Finally, on the smaller petal, use a light tone of bluish purple and try to recreate the shadow shape. It afterward, rinse and blot your brush and with a clean damp brush, gently fade that shadow. That's all for this part. We've applied the basic colors in this area shifting from blue to pink and leaving the lightest areas untouched. Now let everything dry completely, and once it dry, we will apply a second layer. 10. Reflection - Second Layer: The first layer is now completely dry and when we compare it to the reference, we can see it still too light. In this part, we will apply the second layer, carefully painting around those highlights at the bottom, and we will also create a distinction between the two petals. Notice how we are intentionally applying each layer, considering how they interact. Each addition brings us closer to the final result. We'll be using the same colors as before. On the left, I have permanent rose mixed with a little bit of quinacrodon magenta. On the right, my darkest mix consists of pains gray, ultramarine blue, permanent rose, and burnt sienna. I will also add more permanent rose to the right side to achieve that rich deep purple. Additionally at the bottom, I'm mixing a muted blue using ultramarine blue and a touch of burnt sienna. Generally, the colors in the water reflection need to be a bit muted since the image of the lily is distorted by the water, preventing the colors from being too bright or vibrant. Let's start with the dark purple and darken the entire petal on the right. I will apply dark purple under the lily petals gradually shifting down to permanent rows. At the tip of the petal, I'm dropping in some Indian yellow. At this stage, we're darkening the petal while creating a clear edge between this petal and the other petal below. In the next part, we will paint the shadow here. Now, leave this side to dry and move on to the left. Here we need to darken those petals significantly, so be cautious not to touch the petal we've just painted. Apply purples, blues and pinks while carefully painting around the highlights in the lower part. Dropping a darker purple under the lily pad using a dabbing motion with the brush, which allows you to release more paint than a regular standard brush stroke. For the latest petals, apply a very pale version of blue, but again, leave a small gap between this petal and the first one we painted to avoid any unwanted bloom from the wet paint. With a clean de brush, you can lift out some paint to create lighter tones, and with that, we can finish the sport. Now, let everything dry completely. In the next part, we will paint the shadows and darken some areas even more. 11. Reflection - Third Layer: Even after applying two layers of paint, the reflection still appears too pale compared to the reference. In this part, we will darken certain areas and paint the shadows. On my palette, I'm mixing the same colors, ultramarine blue, permanent rose, paints gray, and burnt sienna. This time, however, I'm using more permanent rose, resulting in a very deep burgundy color. Let's start by picking up permanent rose mixed with a touch of the deep purple and paint the shadow on the petal. If you would like, you can lightly draw a pencil line to guide you. Pull that deep dark color toward the tip of the petal. Then use a dabbing motion with your brush to add more paint just under the petal. Initially, I left the corner between the petals painted, but since it's a dark area, we can paint it as well. Next, apply the shadow under the second petal. Again, feel free to draw a pencil line first if it helps you to know where to apply the paint. But these shapes are simple enough that you can likely to do this without guidelines. Lastly, applied the dark color under the lily pad, then softened the paint with a clean de brush. Now, let's dry everything with a hair dryer. After drying, wait for the paper to cool down and return to room temperature. Next, pick up a more diluted, lighter version of the purple, ensuring you also have that muted blue ready. All we want to do now is darken the petal. I'm starting with the purple and then shifting to blue. Notice that I'm also applying the paint onto the dark shadow. This will not only deepen the shadow, but also create a nice overlapping effect with this transparent layer. Be I will also use this dark color to run under the lily pad again just to darken that shadow even more. For the final detail, mix permanent rose with quinacrodon magenta and apply this color to the pink petal if it needs a deeper hue. In my case, it definitely needs a bit more mph, so I'm adding another layer. The slightest petal now looks slightly too bright. It's too light, but we can't address that now since both sides have wet areas. So let's dry everything now and in the next part, we will add veins and darken the slight petal. 13. Masking the Stamens: At this stage, if you didn't mask out the statements at the beginning, it's time to do it now. While it's not strictly necessary, I believe it's worth spending some time carefully masking them to give you a peace of mind while painting the petals. However, if you prefer, you can skip this step and carefully paint around them. I masking the stamens, I will use a small brush, dipping it in water, and then rubbing it on a piece of soap to create a protective coat. Since the stamens are quite small, I'm using a very tiny brush. It takes a bit of time. It took me about 15 minutes to mask everything out carefully, but this precision is essential here. Once you've finished masking the stamens, let them dry completely. When they are dry, we can move on to painting the petals. 14. Petals - Part 1: This part of the tutorial, along with the next one, may feel a bit repetitive. We'll be applying the first layer on the petals, and while it might seem tedious to repeat the same process for each one, I will highlight a few key points along the way. Let's begin by preparing our colors. We'll definitely need pink, and my main pink will be permanent rose. In addition, we will create a muted purple by mixing permanent rows with ultramarine blue and adding a touch of burnt sienno. This mix will allow us to shift between blue and pink tones as needed. At the bottom of the palette, I will mix permanent rose with a little Indian yellow. The warm yellow will add warmth to the pink, resulting in a lovely baby pink shade. These are the colors we'll be using. For this task, I'll be using a Size six brush, which I believe will work well. We'll be painting each petal mainly using the wet on wet technique, though there will be some areas where wet and dry will be necessary. I will demonstrate various types of petals that we will be repeating throughout this process. We can start with any petal as we will need to paint. All of them eventually, I've chosen one of the upper petals as our starting point. This petal is completely covered with color, so we won't leave any white spots. Begin by applying an even layer of water over the petal. Using the wet on wet technique will allow us to blend colors smoothly within this area. Notice that I will be simplifying the surface details. While we can see the bumpy surface, bumpy texture of the petal, I'm focusing on creating smooth color transitions instead. My attention is primarily on the main body of the petal, not on the curled edges. After applying a layer of water, pick up the first color, in this case, the warm pink and apply it to one side of the petal. On the opposite side where I see the muted purple, I will apply that color. Notice that I'm using very light tones. I aim to maintain the luminous quality of the petals. So it's important not to go too dark at this stage. Starting light allows us to add more layers later if needed and darken that area, whereas lightening an area, once it's painted, can be quite challenging in watercolors. Once we finish one petal, we can move on to another one. Best to avoid painting petals that are directly adjacent to the one you've just completed, as we don't want the paint to flow between them. So skip some petals and focus on another. This next petal follows the same process after applying the water layer at the pink and purple colors. If the colors spread too much, use a clean de brush to lift out some paint. Now let's tackle a more complex petal. This petal has at the bottom where we want to blend colors, but in the upper section, we need a hard edge to create a shadow. For this, I will apply water only partially in the area where I want to blend colors using wet on wet technique there. The illustration shows where I'm applying water. It's below the edge I'm going to define. In other areas, I will paint wet and dry to achieve those necessary hard edges. Will begin with a light purple tone, focusing on the shadows in the upper parts. I haven't drawn these shadows with a pencil, but if you prefer, you can lightly sketch them in first. I like to minimize pencil lines. The shadows don't need to be exact. We're simply trying to convey the impression we get from the reference. As I move downward, the paint meets the wet area where I can add more colors and blend them together. On the right hand side, I even incorporate a touch of Indian yellow. Again, note how light my tunnel values are. This strategy allows for adjustments in tunnel values by layering more paint later if needed, which will be particularly important for the petals at the bottom. This petal is very similar to the first two, so there is nothing particularly unusual about it. At this stage, our goal is to apply the basic colors observed on the petals. While we can suggest some darker tones in certain areas, the main purpose here is simply to cover all the petals with foundational colors. We want to work calmly and deliberately on each petal, taking care to manage any hard edges as they will help us create a strong illusion of light. As I paint, I notice variations in color. Some petals have more pink, others have more yellow, and some show more blue. This presents a great opportunity not only to practice the wet on wet technique, but also to train our eyes to recognize different shades and hues. Remember the techniques we have at our disposal and make good use of them. Use the wet on wet technique for larger areas where blending is needed. Use the wet on dry technique to establish hard edges on the petals, and don't forget you can use a clean de brush to lift out paint, creating highlights or preventing the paint from spreading too far. Mm. At this point, I need to pause and allow everything to dry as there are no adjusted petals left to paint that don't touch those already completed. Once everything is dry, I will return to apply colors to the remaining petals in the next part. 15. Petals - Part 2: The first layer on half of the petals has dried, so we can continue with the rest. I noticed I missed one petal in my pencil drawing, so I will quickly add that now before moving forward with painting. There is nothing extraordinary in this process. What we need here is patience as we repeat the same technique on each petal. I highly encourage you not to rush through this part. Take your time and paint each petal carefully and thoughtfully. Remember, this is a relaxing activity and there are no deadlines. Just enjoy the process one petal at a time. For smaller areas, you might not need to use the wet on wet technique, especially if a hard edge is present, as we can cover those areas very quickly. However, for larger areas, I recommend the wet on wet technique because it creates a different field that works beautifully for delicate petals. Focus on applying the correct colors in the right areas, suggesting darker regions with slightly deeper tones. There is no need to achieve the darkest values right away. We will refine those tonal values later to ensure the darkest places are adequately dark. This particular petal is darker than the others. I will use a deeper tone of permanent rose mixed with quinacrodon magenta. The magenta adds a cooler shade to the pink, which will work nicely here. After applying the paint, I will use a clean de brush to lift some color from the tip of the petal and I will drop in a touch of Indian yellow odor. Next, I will mix permanent rose with ultramarine blue, using a more concentrated consistency to add slightly darker shades. On this petal, I'm applying pink, and in the upper part, I'm using short brush strokes to create a subtle texture. This effect is delicate and barely noticeable, but it adds to the overall realism. Now continue applying paint to the rest of the petals. I will stop talking here as there is really nothing more to say. We're just repeating the same process on each petal. I will cut out the sections where I'm applying the water glaze and only keep the parts where I apply the paint just in case you want to see those. Once you finish this part, leave everything to dry completely, and in the next section, we will paint the curled edges of the petals. 16. Petals - Curled Edges: We've applied the main colors to the entire flower, and it looks lovely. Now we have a few more steps to take on our path to completion. In this part, we will focus on painting the curled edges of the petals. Let's begin with the pink petal on the left hand side. Mix quinacrodon magenta with permanent rose to create a deep pink. Using this color, carefully paint the edge of the petal ensuring to leave the tip unpainted. Soften the upper part of the painted area with a clean damp brush. Repeat the same technique on the lower part of the petal, adding more color to mimic the reference photo. Our goal is to paint these edges in one layer if possible. Next switch to a purple color to paint the edge of the adjacent petal. Near the center of the petal, you will notice a deeper pink tone, but we will darken that in the next part. Continue painting the edges one by one. I know there are many petals in this lily, but if we methodically tackle them section by section, we will create a beautiful flower in the end. There's no need to rush. These are small areas that require your patience. If there are strong highlights in any sections, be sure to leave them unpainted. Notice that my brush has a sharp point, which allows me to navigate carefully into the tiniest corners between the petals. No Now for the bottom left petal, we will use a green colour. Let's mix green gold, Windsor green, and burnt sienna to create an olive green. To darken this color, we can add a touch of Pain's gray. Start with just green gold and apply this color to the curled edge of the petal as our base. For the edge, add a bit of pink to tie the colors together beautifully. Now, let's pick up the darker green and start building up the dark green value in this area. Carefully apply the green along the edge, then drop in more of the deep color to ensure it's dark enough. Oh. I'm adding even more paints gray right at the very edge to deepen the tone. Next, mix green gold and winds are green to refine this green layer, making sure it's evenly covered with both green and pink along the edge. Moving on to the next petal, start with a mix of burnt sienna and Indian yellow. This area is small but features a variety of colors. The key here is to paint the center of the petal or the tip of the petal, I should say, with dark green, leaving lighter areas on both sides. Then at the darker green and pink on the right side. This interplay of light and dark tones will create a nice three D effect, giving the petal a rounded form. Don't forget to add highlight on the edge and be sure to incorporate pink there as well. While this is a small area, it does require careful attention. You find it overwhelming, consider breaking the process into smaller steps. Apply yellow, let it dry, then apply green, let it dry, and finally, focus on the pink before allowing that to dry. Alternatively, you can paint everything at once as I've chosen to do. Continue painting each section with care. The bottom right petal might be a bit trickier due to its mix of colors. There's a lovely green at the tip alongside pinks and purples. However, the technique remains the same. Just distribute the colors similarly to your reference photo. And with that, we can wrap up this part of the tutorial. You can see how my lily looks at this stage. It's almost finished. However, comparing it to the reference photo reveals that it lacks depth and the darkest tones. In the next part, we will add those crucial details and darken all the areas that needed to bring the painting to life. H 17. Petals - Details: In this part, we will enhance the petals by adding details. I'll begin with a smaller brush size four. Let's start by preparing a dark, warm pink color, mix permanent rose with Indian yellow. This will give us a warm pink or even red, depending on the proportions. Then add paints gray to darken this mix. Try to mix a color that is similar to what I have on my palette. Use this dark color to paint the darkest areas underneath the petals. Add more permanent rose to your palette. Rinse and blot your brush and use it to smooth out the paint. At this stage, we're looking for areas where a touch of dark paint can add depth to the lily. You'll notice that just a small amount of the dark tone can significantly enhance the dimension of the flower. Now, let's mix permanent rose with ultramarine blue to create a muted purple. To tone it down further, you can add a touch of green from your palette, or if you don't have green anymore on your palette, you can add paints gray and burnt sienna. Start by applying just the permanent rose to the petal, making sure to leave the highlighted area unpainted. This will define the edge of the shadow on this petal. After applying the permanent rose, switch to your purple mix and apply it to the rest of the petal. Continue to focus on the areas where you want to add depth and richness. And remember to take your time. This is where the details truly bring this painting to life. In the area close to the center, drop in a darker tone. The green color can be particularly useful here as the petals reflect the green from the surroundings. Adding green also helps to neutralize the purple tones. At this stage, we want to apply one more layer to the three larger petals at the bottom. Since they are in shadow, it's essential to ensure that they are dark enough. However, avoid going too dark right away. It's better to apply a few thin, transparent layers to gradually build up the colors and tones rather than applying one thick dark layer all at once. Now, let's move on to other sections of the flour, using the same dark pink mix from earlier, perhaps adding a bit more permanent rose. Apply this mixture between the two petals. This time I'm using a concentrated dark pink color. It has a thicker consistency instead of a milky one. I want to make sure that the color is dark enough before I start to fading away this color with a clean de brush. Focus on those small darker areas between the petals that require more depth. This will help create dimension and enhance the contrast between each petal, ensuring they are clearly distinguished from one another. At this stage, take a dual approach. First, step back and view your flower as a whole from a distance to assess the overall composition, overall distribution of tunnel values. Look for areas that may need more darkening, particularly in the crevices between petals near the center. Additionally, identify if any petals overall appear too light and need to be darkened. In my case, I believe some petals on the right side could benefit from a deeper tone. On the other side, zoom in and take your time when you spot a section that needs attention. It's essential to work patiently, focusing on one small area at a time. Often the challenge isn't the technique itself, as I mentioned in the beginning of this tutorial, but the lack of patience. It's tempting to rush to finish your painting, but you must pay enough attention to each petal. Once you've finished darkening the petals, dry everything completely with a hair dryer. The final touch will be adding those beautiful stripes on the petals. While these lines are green in the reference, I've decided to paint them dark pink. You can certainly use green here if you prefer, but I just thought that pink would be better. Using permanent rose and the tip of my brush, I will carefully paint these delicate lines paying close attention to their shape. Shapes of these lines are crucial as they inform us how the petal is bent. I want to create very thin lines thinner than those in the reference, so they don't draw too much attention. These fine veins add character to the flower. Sometimes even if the petals don't naturally have those lines, those veins, I like to include them to enhance visual interest. For the bottom petals, remember to use a slightly darker tone so the stripes are visible when they dry. If you're uncertain about the shapes of the lines, feel free to use a pencil to help guide you. Although I included those lines in the line art for you, I personally never draw them out because they can appear too prominent. I prefer to paint these lines freehand loosely following the reference photo. After painting the lines, dry everything again with the hair dryer, and now we can remove the masking fluid from the stamens. In the next part, we will paint the stamens and complete our beautiful flower painting. 18. Stamens: To start, I will clean the left side of my palette to create a fresh mixing area. If your water is very dirty, this is also a good time to change it, as we will need clean yellow colors. Let's prepare our colors first. We will need three shades. The brightest shade will be Windsor yellow. Then the middle shade, Indian yellow or any other warm yellow you have on hand. And the darkest shade, a mix of your warm yellow, in my case, it's Indian yellow with permanent rose. This should create a vibrant orange or even red. Now the fun part begins. In the first stage, we will use the brightest yellow, Windsor yellow to cover all the stamens, leaving just the tips of some of them unpainted. This stage is quite straightforward. Our goal is to cover everything with winds are yellow while preserving some highlights. I know this area can be small, especially if you're painting on a 12 by nine size, but I encourage you to stay focused and take your time while painting these statements. After applying Windsor yellow to all stamens, dry everything with a hair dryer and wait a few minutes for the paper to cool down. Next, we'll pick up the Indian yellow to apply our second layer. In this stage, we will add a bit of shadow to each stamen. Apply a touch of Indian yellow to the bottom part of a stamen, then use a clean de brush to fade it upwards. Focus on applying this color mainly to the lower part of the stamen and gently blend it towards the top. This technique will create the illusion of depth, suggesting that the upper part is more illuminated by sunlight. Yes, I know this stage is even more tedious than the previous one, but it's worth persevering. Notice that I'm painting with just the very tip of my brush. It's almost like drawing with colored pencils. If you use a brush that is too large, you might miss out on the finer details. That's perfectly fine, depending on your style, but I personally enjoy being precise sometimes, so I don't mind dedicating a few extra minutes to the statements. Besides, this is the focal point of our painting. W Here's how the stamens look after the second layer. I'll pause for a few seconds so you can take a good look. Feel free to pause the video to keep it on the screen a bit longer if you would like. After applying the second layer, make sure to dry everything again with a hair dryer. Now for the third stage, pick up the darkest mix and apply it to the darkest areas of the stamens. After applying the darkest orange color, we can also pick up some Indian yellow again and apply it right next to the dark color. This helps to smooth everything out, creating a softer transition between the dark and middle values. Additionally, layering Indian yellow makes the color appear deeper and more vibrant. Again, the darkest orange is typically found at the bottom of each stamen, which helps convey the depth of the flowers center. And after applying the darkest tunnel values with this dark orange, we can almost call this painting finished. The very last step I want to discuss, which is totally optional is softening the edges of the shadows. I enjoy doing this in my paintings when there are shadows on the petals that met white paper. For this, I use a scrubber brush, specifically a Windsor and Newton galeria brush size. Four, I dip it in water. I blot it on a paper towel, and then gently rub the edge of the shadow back and forth with the damp brush. Afterward, I dab the area with a paper towel to lift some paint. This technique softens those hard edges, creating a stronger sense of warm glowing light. Now we can sign our painting. I always place my signature in the bottom right corner using colors that match that area. In this case, I'm using a slightly darker shade of blue, and I prefer my signature to be subtle rather than prominent. And now the painting is finished. We can carefully remove the masking tape to reveal a nice clean border. Later, I will remove the painting from the gator board, and I will trim off the edges with those staples, leaving just a white border. This border is always helpful when I decide to matin frame the painting. The painting looks beautiful. It's colm with lovely colors that evoke a sense of tranquility and relaxation. In the final part, we will reflect on what we've learned throughout this project. 19. Summary: Thank you so much for joining me in this watercolor painting tutorial. I hope you found it enjoyable and that you are inspired to give this painting a try yourself. Let's take a moment to recap what we've covered throughout the project. We learned how to use the wet and wet technique to achieve a soft, dreamy background that beautifully complements our lily. This method allows us to blend colors, seamlessly creating a tranquil atmosphere. We explored how to break down the shapes into simpler forms, making it easier to paint with confidence. This simplification helps create a harmonious composition that draws the viewer's eye. We discovered the importance of layering to create realistic reflections in the water. By gradually building up colors and tones, we were able to convey the depth of the lies reflection in the water. We recognized that patience is crucial when working on detailed subjects like flowers with multiple petals. Taking our time allowed us to focus on each petal individually, enhancing the overall quality of our painting. Practiced using both wet on wet and wet on dry techniques, understanding when to apply each method to achieve different effects. This versatility is key to creating dynamic and visually interesting artwork. We emphasized the importance of tunnel values by carefully preserving the lightest areas on the petals and darkening any areas that needed it. This attention to tunnel values helped create a strong sense of light and dimension, making our lily appear more vibrant and lifelike. I hope you enjoyed this process as much as I did. Remember, painting is about exploring and having fun. So don't be afraid to experiment with your own colors and techniques. I hope you'll give this painting a try if you haven't yet. So thank you very much for watching and happy painting.