Watercolor Florals: Sunflower Painting Class- Wet On Wet Technique | Bianca Rayala | Skillshare
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Watercolor Florals: Sunflower Painting Class- Wet On Wet Technique

teacher avatar Bianca Rayala, Top Teacher | Watercolor Artist

Watch this class and thousands more

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Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Watch this class and thousands more

Get unlimited access to every class
Taught by industry leaders & working professionals
Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more

Lessons in This Class

    • 1.

      Introduction

      1:32

    • 2.

      Materials

      1:49

    • 3.

      Color Mixing

      5:30

    • 4.

      Pencil Sketch

      11:31

    • 5.

      Painting the flowers

      16:19

    • 6.

      Painting The Leaves

      19:33

    • 7.

      Painting The Leaves 2

      4:10

    • 8.

      Painting the Pot

      7:58

    • 9.

      Final Touches

      13:46

    • 10.

      Class Project

      1:51

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About This Class

Hello everyone! I am Bianca Rayala, a watercolor artist from the Philippines and welcome to my new Skillshare class- Watercolor Florals: Sunflower Painting!

Let me share with you another class where we will be painting this beautiful pot of sunshine! Let’s begin the class by understanding how to simplify complex subjects such as sunflowers. How to create your sunflower color mixture using a limited palette. I will share also how to paint this floral piece using the wet on wet technique, the tips and techniques to get the right timing on applying colors and strokes which you can apply in all watercolor works!

So whether you're a beginner in watercolor or someone who simply loves sunflowers and wants to discover more about this beautiful medium, this class is perfect for you! Get your Materials ready and see you in class!

Meet Your Teacher

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Bianca Rayala

Top Teacher | Watercolor Artist

Top Teacher

Hi friends! I'm Bianca and I'm a watercolor artist. My purpose is to inspire people to discover and pursue their creative passion. See full profile

Level: All Levels

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Transcripts

1. Introduction: Hello everyone. I'm Bianca Rayala, a watercolor artist from the Philippines. Welcome to my new Skillshare class. Bold, bright, and beautiful, these are just few words that perfectly describe sunflowers. A flower that not only radiates joy and hope but also a flower that displays full dependence on the source of light. No wonder some have captured the hearts of many, including mine. Today, let me share with you another class where we will be painting this beautiful sunshine. Let's begin the class by understanding how to simplify complex subjects such as sunflowers, a flower that has multiple petals, how to create your sunflower color mixture using a limited palette, and how to paint this floral piece using the wet-on-wet technique. I will teach you tips and techniques to get the right timing on applying colors and strokes, which you can apply in all your watercolor works. Whether you're a beginner in watercolor or someone who simply loves sunflowers and wants to discover more about these beautiful medium, this class is perfect for you. Get your materials ready and see you in class. 2. Materials: For this particular painting, we will be doing the wet-on-wet technique. The materials that we will be needing are, first, a plastic board such as this one, watercolor paper preferably made of 100% cotton and 300 GSM, watercolor paints, and a mixing palette , a flat brush. This one that I'm using is made of goat hair. It absorbs good amount of water, which is perfect for wetting the entire paper. Round brushes, I will be using the silver black velvet in size eight and 10. For this type of brush, it is made up of mixed squirrel and synthetic hair, which allows the brush to absorb good amount of pigment and maintain a good point and snap. We will be needing also pencil and eraser, clean tissue paper, and two cups of clean water. 3. Color Mixing: The colors that we'll be using to paint this watercolor piece are first, Naples yellow deep, burnt sienna, this is violet, or you can use any dioxazine violet, neutral tint, olive green, and indigo. For the base wash of the sunflowers such as this, the lighter yellow, we will be using Naples yellow deep. [MUSIC] We add a bit of burnt sienna on Naples yellow deep for the shadowed parts of the flower. The darker, the shadow, the more burnt sienna we will add. For the center of the flower. We will create a dark brown color by mixing the amethyst violet and burnt sienna. [MUSIC] If you want to make it a little bit more darker for depth, just add some neutral tint. [MUSIC] We also use the same color mixture and just play with the ratio between burnt sienna and amethyst violet in painting the pot. For the leaves, we just use olive green and add a little bit of indigo for a darker tone. Olive green, and a mix of indigo. This is Naples yellow deep for the lightest part of the petals. Naples yellow deep plus burnt sienna for the shadowed parts of the petals. This violet plus burnt sienna for the center of the flower. Amethyst violet plus burnt sienna plus neutral tint, to make an even more darker and richer brown color for the center of the flower. We'll be using these three colors also as we paint the pot. For the leaves, it's just olive green and a mixture of olive green plus Indigo for a darker toned green. You can practice mixing your colors. Practice them making creamy mixtures, and now you can be ready to paint your own work. [MUSIC] 4. Pencil Sketch: [MUSIC] Let's begin with our pencil sketch. First, we plan our composition by locating the position of each flower. I do a light mark first of the center of the sunflower to ensure that the flowers are not too close nor too far from each other. [MUSIC] I erase unnecessary pencil marks to avoid confusion on my sketch. For the petals, I don't really create a very detailed drawing petal by petal, I just copied the overall shape of the flower and draw the petal on my own interpretation. In this way, I don't have to be stressed with the exact number of petals in my reference photo. I just focus on the big shapes and dominant petals that I see from my reference. [MUSIC] I do the same thing with the other sunflowers. Also, I hold my pencil in an unusual manner, so I can avoid drawing hard marks. If you will notice, I'm holding it on the upper part of the handle. I keep my sketch as light as possible. However, for this demo, I slightly make it darker, so you may see it clearly. But later on, before putting on the colors, I would erase the dark marks lightly. [MUSIC] For complex subjects like sunflowers with multiple petals, always remember the tip that I'm sharing today, that you can simplify this complex objects by looking at the big shapes of the petals. Instead of focusing on the number of petals that you have to draw, as compared to the reference photo, just focus on the big picture and the big shapes and do the petals as you wish. Now, I place a side-facing sunflower and some thin dancing leaves here on the left for added element in our composition. Next, I proceed on drawing the sunflower on the right, and basically do the same approach in sketching the petals. Again, I just copied the overall shape of the flower and draw the petal on my own interpretation. I don't really create a very detailed drawing, petal by petal. Just to share also, I love sunflowers because they radiate beauty and joy, and that's how I want our painting to look like, to show positive energy and bring out the joy in you. Don't be stressed out in sketching the sunflowers. I want you to enjoy the process and just draw the petals based on your interpretation, instead of focusing and being limited by what you see on your reference photo. Next, I will be adding some large leaves here below, to connect the two sunflowers. [MUSIC] I will teach you how to paint the leaves without focusing on too much details. I will show you the scratching technique to show a more natural look on the veins of the leaves. You can also add some thin dancing leaves here on the side, just to keep a balance in our composition. Again, you don't have to be limited on what you see in the reference photo. I want you to have the confidence to imagine and create something or out there, based on what you want to achieve in your painting. Now, instead of a glass vase, I will be throwing a pot, which holds the sunflower together. When you draw the pot, makes sure that the curved lines are balanced and equal. The pot will look proportionate, and in proper perspective. I start with the sides, and then on the base of the pot. To enhance the composition of our painting, I decided to add the small sunflower here below, and a few pieces of petals at the base. I made it a little bit smaller, so it won't get all the attention of the painting. [MUSIC] You can also add some round marks on the center of the sunflower for your guide, and check your sketch if you're done. This is our pencil sketch. [MUSIC] 5. Painting the flowers: Now that we're done with our sketch, using this flat brush it will wet the paper at the back and in front. This brush I'm using is made of goat hair from silver brush. What I like about this goat hair brush from silver brush is its ability to hold very good amount of water, making it perfect for the job. As you wet the paper, ensure that the entire paper is really wet here at the back and then lay it flat on the board and wet the front part. Thoroughly wet the paper, making sure that there is no area left dry. This painting is called wet on wet. I put generous amount of water on my paper so that my paper would stick on the board. The one that I'm using is a clear acrylic board because the paper tend to dry slower using this board instead of a board made of paper or wood. Once the paper is flat on the board, make sure that there's no bubbles underneath. Next you wait for a few minutes for the paper to absorb the water and prepare your clean paper towel while waiting. We will use the paper towel to remove excess moisture from the area that we would like to paint. I fold my tissue in this small piece and then I lay it on the part where I will paint first. Laying my tissue on this part of the flower gently, and don't dab it on the paper. For our 1st yellow layer for the sunflowers, create a creamy mixture of Naples Yellow deep and paint the petals of the flower following the sketch that you did. Remember that I am creating a creamy mixture. Press the brush flat on the paper using your round brush. Now I am using silver brush, black velvet Size 8. This brush is made of mixed squirrel hair fibers, which allows it to have good amount of water and pigment plus it stays pointy and has a good snap. Notice the consistency of my paint. It is creamy and not flowy. This is essential to prevent paint from flowing uncontrollably on the moist paper. I just paint over the petals using Naples Yellow deep and I follow the sketch that I did. Next, I mix a bit of branch henna and on my Naples Yellow deep to paint the shadows. It is like doing a negative painting to bring out the bright front row of petals. Using a clean, damp brush, I lift the color of some parts of the sunflower to bring light. You can do this technique to lighten the tone on the portions of the sunflower petals that you want to highlight the lighted portion. For a slightly darker shadows, I just use branch henna. Painting with this technique of wetting both back and front of the paper gives us a soft look on the painting. I use the flat brush with clean water to soften some edges to keep the painting or the flower soft. To paint the center of the flower I mix burnt sienna and violet. I paint the center with jagged edges for extra texture. I still use a creamy mixture for this. Also remember that the darker the center the deeper it would appear. However, don't be afraid of applying dark colors as watercolor colored tend to fade out after drying, especially when we do the wet-on-wet approach. You'll be surprised that you'll need to add another layer later on to bring out the appropriate tone that you want to achieve for a specific area. I darken this edge of the flower to make it more deep and keep the center lighter in tone. I also pull out some brown color from the center going to the portion of the petals to create depth and dimension. Next, we move on to painting this flower on the right. Since my paper is still wet, I still damp a clean tissue over it. I repeat the same process on painting the petals with clean Naples yellow deep. I press my brush flat on the paper as I apply my paint, and I still use creamy mixture. Pressing your brush against the paper would prevent the paint from bleeding too much. Now for the shadow parts, I mix burnt sienna with Naples yellow deep for a darker toned yellow. I'm painting the shadowed petals to bring out the brightness of the lighted once. As you do this step be careful not to overdo the shadows, and keep your mixture consistent. Also remember that the flower on the left is lighter than the flower on the right. It is because, the flower on the right is against the light. Now we paint the center of the sunflower with a mixture of burnt sienna and violet. As I paint the center, I also contour the shape of the folded petals. In this way we can define the edges of the petals and give more clarity on the flowers. I also create a darker center by adding a bit of Neutral Tint on my mixture. I still keep the edges jagged to have that texture on the center of the flower. Then pull a thin line from the center going to the portion of the flower to create depth. I keep the tone in the middle a little bit lighter while the tone of the outer part of the center of the flower is darker. 6. Painting The Leaves: Now we move on to painting the third sunflower on the left part. The same mixture is used in the flowers pure Naples yellow deep for the base color of the petals. This time, if you would notice, I no longer wipe the surface with clean tissue as my paper is already turning semi dry. Don't worry if there will come a time that your pigment would bleed uncontrollably, especially on this lower part, covering the pot since we can't cover those bleeds later on as we paint the pot. [MUSIC] Now for the shadow petals, I painted them with Naples yellow deep mixed with burnt henna keeping my strokes light and not the stiff. Again, I bring out the light petals by doing negative painting on the shadowed ones. [MUSIC] This flower should also be lighter as compared to the sunflower on the right since this one on the left is somehow facing the sun. [MUSIC] While this fragment is still wet, let's create that mixture for the center of the flower. I still mixed violet and burnt henna enough for the brown color in the center. [MUSIC] I keep the mixture still creamy instead of being flowy. [MUSIC] In this part, I notice though that I overdid paint in the center flower, so I lift the pain to retain the original shape of the petals and the original size of the center. [MUSIC] I pull out some dark brown color from the center going to the petal for depth. [MUSIC] I also lift those color bleeds with clean water. Now, for the leaves, I will be using olive green mainly for the leaves. I will add a bit of lunar blue just for granulation. But lunar blue is not really necessary. I started painting the leaves of the flower facing the side. While doing this step, I also contour the shape of the petals of the two sunflowers on both sides. It is the same principle with negative painting wherein we define the shapes or the edges of the petals while painting this space intended for the leaves. I also create dark, green mixture to add depth on the leaves portion by mixing olive green and a bit of indigo. [MUSIC] While this fragment is still wet, I paint over the petals and let it slightly blend with green for a soft look. I still use Naples yellow deep for the base yellow color and add a bit of burnt henna later on to paint the shadows. [MUSIC] You can also splatter some yellow pigment for some special effects. You can also use a water sprayer for a softer effect on the splatters. [MUSIC] Also remembered, the direction of your brush varies the direction of your splatter. Be mindful on how you hold your brush when you do the splatter. [MUSIC] For the dark leaves, I simply mix some indigo on my olive green to add depth on this green part of the flower. [MUSIC] I want to splatter some more on the right for balance. I wet the area with clean water and then splatter some yellow pigment here and there. [MUSIC] Now, I paint the blank space here in-between flowers with green pigment to show an impression of bundle of leaves. You don't have to paint leaf by leaf. Just play with the tones to avoid making the greens look too flat. Again, use this step also to define the shapes of the surrounding petals. I normally use dark green on those spots near the petals for more contrast. [MUSIC] My mixture is still creamy. Then I slightly add a little bit of water in those areas that I want to have a lighter tone. [MUSIC] I blend the color of the petals and the leaves by lifting the color using a clean, damp brush. [MUSIC] At this stage, you can see how petals of the sunflowers slowly but surely revealing its shape as we define and contour their edges while painting the leaves. Now for the veins, you can use your fingernails to scratch the paper to show the veins of the leaves. Now, there is appropriate timing in scratching the paper. The paper should not be too wet so the paint will not flow in the scratched area. However, when the paper is already dry, it will be impossible to scratch the paper and leave a white gap on the scratched area. [MUSIC] Make some spots darker for contrast especially in those areas near the petals. I also splatter some green color to connect the elements together. [MUSIC] As I paint the other leaf underneath the main one, I change the tone to separate it from the other leaf. I will also leave a very small white gap in-between, those two leaves will not mix up. Again, I use my fingernail to scratch the paper for the effects of the veins, and also use this step to define the shape of the petals. I also keeping in mind the shape of the sunflower leaf so it will still look close to natural. Always wait for the right timing when you scratch the paper. [MUSIC] For the last leaf, I still use the same mix of indigo and olive green. [MUSIC] I differ the tone of this leaf from the leaf on top of it so they would look separated. [MUSIC] I also add some thin wavy leaves on this side to fill our composition. [MUSIC] I spray some water to soften the edge. I also splatter some green paint on the side. If you feel that the splatters look too hard, you can simply take a damp, flat brush to soften the edge. I also intentionally bled a portion of the big leaf so it would look soft. [MUSIC] 7. Painting The Leaves 2: I scratch the leaf, but the layer seems to be too wet. That's why it didn't work well. If you would notice the paint just blend towards this scratch portion. I just let the paint dry a little bit more before I try again. While waiting I'll paint the thin leaves on the other side and enhance some details. Now, let's paint this sunflower below. But before that, I get a clean tissue to remove the excess moisture on the flower. I did the same procedure I did with all the other flowers. The base color is still nipples, yellow deep, and I add a little bit of Burnt Henna to the mixture for the shadows. I made this particular flower a bit light in color as I don't want it to capture the attention of my viewers. I also paint these few petals with the same base color and splatter some yellow pigment for additional effects. For the center of the flower, I still use Burnt Henna and violet. Don't worry if your sunflower has no defined shape on its edges as we will define and contour those petals as we paint the pot. 8. Painting the Pot: Let's add some final touches in the contour of the petals just to define its shape. When you're good with it you can proceed on painting the pot. Now, I'm mixing branch henna and neutral tint for the base color of the pot. I will start painting the fragment right under the flower. I made them really dark because of the shadow. I define the shape of the petals as I paint over the pot. The darker the pot is on this fragment, the brighter the sunflower would look like. I add more branch henna to my mix, to make it lighter in tone. I can bring dimension on my pot. I feel in the pot with color playing with the tones to avoid making it look flat. This area right underneath the flowers is dark because of the shadow while this side on the left is a little bit light because it is facing the Sun. On the right side of the pot, I make it dark because it's turning away from the sun already. I just mixed neutral tint on my base color to create a deep dark tone of brown. I also lift slightly the color on this left side of the pot to show the lighted portion. While this layer is still wet, you can add darker tones for contrast and to enhance the dimension. I also soften the edge on this left side as I don't want the pot to look like an illustration. If you notice that the pot needs to be darker on those shadowed areas, just apply a darker tone while the fragment is still wet. I also slightly wet this side of the pot because I like to add some soft splatters. 9. Final Touches: [MUSIC] As we finalize our painting, now is the time to add final touches and define the shapes of the petals. I define this flower underground by adding negative painting of burnt sienna and also painting the darker tones of the pot. I create a dark mix of burnt sienna, violet and neutral tint to create this rich dark brown color. Before you proceed on adding dark spots, it's important to step back and look at your painting, so you can identify which areas should you add more dark tones. I will also be darkening the center of the flower since it faded in color. I use the same rich dark brown color, which is composed of neutral tint, burnt sienna and violet to darken the brown center of the sunflower. The deeper the color is, the livelier the flower would look. I will do the same thing also with the other three flowers. You can also add a thick layer of yellow ocher here on the center for the opaque center of the sunflower. We'll add some dark brown colors from the center towards the in-between of petals for dimension. Keep the edges ragged for a natural texture over the middle flower. Again, I add an opaque mixture of yellow ocher in the middle. If you notice, we just use a handful number of colors to paint this entire picture. As you develop and learn more about watercolors, you will realize that you don't really have to have a lot of colors to paint a good painting. We can simply mix colors, play with tones, as colors is the least necessary thing in painting. The most important thing that you have the practice is the play of tones so that the painting would look harmonious and would look also natural. Another thing that I also want you to remember that in painting, wet-on-wet, the layer of paint would normally fade or lighten once the paper gets dry. Don't be afraid to put on dark colors, so you don't have to repeat the layering once it gets dry. Stepping back, taking a break and looking at your painting from a distance is also an essential step to identify if it is already time to stop working on your painting. Most often, the danger in watercolor is overdoing the layers. Always step back to look at your work and decide when to stop. As we reach the end of our painting, I will enhance the color of the petals by adding more contrast on some of them. Still, the technique that I do, as I do this step, is negative painting. I also noticed that this bunch of leaves on the right look one in tone, so I will be darkening a bit some of the leaves hiding below the main leaf, so they would somehow separated. Again, be careful not to overdo your work. Be careful not to lose the brightness of fair flowers by adding too much shadows or dark layers. Now I step back and take a look at my work from a distance. I'll be adding some contrasts between these bunch of leaves. I still use my mix of olive green and indigo to achieve a darker tone green. I put dark spots here in-between petals to create contrast and to enhance the shape of these petals. I also try to avoid painting over the scratch portions as I don't want to lose those light scratches on the leaves that represent the veins. You add the darker tone here under this leaf in the center since this portion of the leaf underneath is covered with shadow. After adding some highlights and checking on the details, you can finalize your painting and sign your work. This is our final painting. 10. Class Project: Congratulations for finishing my sunflower class. Now you're ready to paint your own work. Refer to the downloadable files in our reference section to view our reference photo and final painting for your guide. For the class project, paint the same object that I did in the videos. Just follow the same process that I showed step-by-step and feel free to go back and re-watch the portions of the videos that you want to review. Don't forget to practice your color mixtures and watercolor techniques such as scratching, splattering, and of course, the proper application of wet-on-wet technique. I'm excited to see your paintings so don't forget to upload it on the Project Gallery of the class. It also will be a great encouragement for me if you would leave a review on this class. I invite you also to check out my other SkillShare classes as it is my joy to teach different interesting classes which are perfect for beginners, intermediate, and experienced watercolorists. I hope you enjoyed our sunflower class. Don't be afraid to use different references, practice the wet-on-wet techniques, experiment with colors, and embrace the nature and beauty of watercolor. Paint from the heart and paint to inspire. God bless.