Watercolor Flow: Simple flowering Succulents

1. Introduction to Watercolor Flow: Welcome to watercolor flow. We will be painting a step by step watercolor painting of a beautiful flowering succulent together. And that's what makes this class perfect for beginners as well as intermediate painters. We'll be bringing this painting to life by applying what we've learned in the lesson. In this class, we will learn how to blend and layer watercolors. Mix our own custom colors and painting simple botanical shapes to create a beautiful overall painting. Hi, I'm Wendy Lee, an art teacher and teacher. I give online and in person art classes. Welcome to Watercolor Flow. And I'm so glad you're here today. This is my succulent garden. And this is the prickly pear that we will be painting together. As you can see, this prickly pear has got its fruits on it, but we will be painting it in flower. Are you ready to have some fun with me? Well, let's get ready for the next video where we'll be looking at what we need to paint this step by step painting together. 2. Class project and Materials: For our class project, you'll create your own watercolor painting of a flowering succulent using the techniques we explore together in the lessons. You can trace my template, choose your own picture, or draw and paint a succulent from life. Don't worry if you're new to watercolor. This project is all about enjoying the process and letting your creativity grow. Watch the class, follow along and upload a photo of your finished work to the project gallery. For this watercolor project, I've used watercolor paper. It doesn't matter if you use cold press or hot press paper. I've used cold press paper. Then I've used two different size brushes. You can see I've got three different size this year. You can use whatever size suits you. These are I've used a size four, a size eight and a size 12. You can use whatever brushes you prefer. Then I've got some watercolor paint. You can use watercolor paint that comes from a tube or a paint pan. Masking tape, also known as artist's tape to help tape your page to your tabletop or to a board to prevent it from buckling. A jar of water, and I've also got a little bottle of water spray to keep my paint pans wet. This is optional, of course. I just find that this helps me a lot when I'm painting. I've also got some white quash, which I sometimes use to add highlights to my artwork, but that is also optional. Right. Are you ready? Go gather your things so that we can start painting together, and I'll see you in the next video. 3. Painting Succulent Leaves: So to begin, I've already taped my watercolor paper to a board and drawn my succulent so that I can start painting. I've pre wet this big succulent leaf so that my paint will flow easily. You can use any colors on this leaf. It doesn't only have to be green. I've used a few of my favorite colors to brighten it up and give it that whimsical look. As you can see, my paint consistency is not too watery as I want my colors to stay bright. Because I pre wet this leaf, the colors are flowing and blending into one another, creating a bit of an unpredictable yet beautiful mix of colors. By randomly dotting some new color into areas that I've already painted, new shades of my original colors are formed. Later, when I paint my flowers, I'll be adding a little bit of red into their petals. So adding this little touch of red into this leaf will give the painting an overall balanced feeling. If you have chosen different colors to me, remember to later add splashes of them into your flower petals as well. Working on the second leaf, I'm still keeping my colors crisp and taking care to move my paint around these little thorny bits. As you can see, I forgot to pre wet this leaf so the colors aren't flowing as easily. If you prefer a more controlled and a less natural flow, you can use this method instead. As you can see, some of these colours are flowing into that first leaf that makes it look more natural and a little bit more whimsical, and that's okay. That just adds to the authenticity of this piece. In this third leaf, it's important to repeat the colors you used in the first two leaves. Believe me. I was so tempted to change colors at this point because I love experimenting. But if I did that, it would look like a totally separate plant. I've given this class in person, and many people have changed colors at this point. So be careful not to make the same mistake. I found painting this piece more than once a totally lovely experience because I've used different colors for each one. So you could try that too, if you would like. Here I'm using a bit of red again. And as you can see, it's blending and making a totally new color, and that's okay. That's what makes it unique. So just go with the flow. Just remember, if you want your colors to stay crisp and not turn into a muddy puddle, you need to clean your paintbrush each time you change colors. You've probably wondered why I've used no brown in these leaves. Well, that's because I'll be painting the thorns in browns later. If you're painting along without having pre watched this lesson and you've used brown, that's okay. You can make your thorns a dark, purple or blue. After all, this is all about experimenting, letting go, and watching the colors flow, and, of course, having fun. I'm just going to finish off this little piece, and then I'll see you in the next video. Come join me as I paint the succulent flowers in the next video. 4. Painting the Main Flower: For the main flour, we'll paint a base of yellow or a mixture of yellow and a slight mustard color. Make it very watery so that we can build this as the bottom layer and build it layer by layer as it dries to make it more vibrant. Did you know, prickly pear flowers actually come in a variety of colors. So you can paint yours in any shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, or even purple. I've chosen yellow for mine, as the one in my garden is this color. While it's still wet, I'm dropping in bits of the same red that I used in the leaves. Wow. Look how beautifully it spreads and flows with the water. Painting wet and wet like this is a lovely technique to use when painting flowers, as it captures that soft delicate feeling of the petals. I'm quickly going to paint that same base yellow on my smaller buds so that we can work on them later by using a wet on dry technique. For now, I'll drop some of the red on random places on these buds and add an olive green just under the bud. Did you know that prickly pear fruits are actually very healthy. They are high in antioxidants and various vitamins. And many people eat them as a dessert. Actually, my husband permeating he prefers eating them with ice cream. I'm going to use my smaller brush to help me add the details. I'm going to paint these thorns a light brown color, remembering to keep my paint quite watery. Later on, I'll add a little bit of a darker brown just to create a bit of a shadow and a three D effect on each thorn. On some places in this video, I'll be fast forwarding a bit, as I'm sure you don't want to watch me paint each individual thorn. Now, back to my main flower. My bottom layer has dried, and now I can go in and do a layer of detailed work in red. As you can see, I'm just softly adding some color around my pencil outlines. You can use these lines to guide you, but feel free to leave soft patches of red wherever you want. I'm just painting a few soft veins in the petals and making the back petals a little bit more red for contrast. As you do this layer, your red can be a little bit darker, or shall we say, a little less watery than the previous red that you used. See how I'm doing these back petals. It creates a little bit more depth if I do the red petals at the back. If the lines look too harsh for your liking, soften them with a bit of water to blend them, so you're just dipping your brush into the clean water and touching it lightly to soften them. We'll be painting the flower buds in the next video. 5. Painting the Flower Buds: To paint the flower buds, I've mixed a touch of blue into my original red to create a maroon color. As you can see, I'm not painting to the lines, but rather leaving a tiny gap on either side of my pencil line so that my original lighter color shines through. In this way, the petals look loose and separate instead of just having one big blob of color on my page. I'm also using my smaller paintbrush, as the spaces are quite delicate to paint. I'm touching my page very softly so that big drops of paint and water don't accidentally drip and possibly smudge my lines. I'm now adding the same color but with less water to make these petals a little bit darker. When you are happy with the shade of your flower bud, you can drip a darker color like purple or blue into your still wet petals. This will create a bit of depth in the flower. As you can see, I'm dripping it close to the bottom of each petal, which allows the colour to flow by itself. I'm just going to paint the bottom part of this flower. You can paint it as part of the succulent or as part of the flower bud. Now, for the succulents thorns, I'm using a dark brown for my thorns and dabbing it on parts of the thorn so that when I stand back at the end and look at my completed painting, the thorns will look more realistic. I'm going to do the whole succulent thorns now all in one go. While that dries a bit, I'll work on the next flower bud. So you might be wondering why my main flower hasn't been painted yet. I'll let you in on a little secret. This is the second time that I'm painting these flower buds. I was so excited to paint them that I forgot to press record on my camera. I can't believe that I did that. I guess that's life sometimes. At least it's a good thing to be excited and enthusiastic about one's painting. It always relaxes me, and that's why I get so excited. I'm taking some of that maroon and watering it down a little bit, and then I use it under each thorn to create a small shadow. Once again, I'm dabbing in I'll be dabbing in some darker brown into my thorns and some more purple into my buds petals. And look at that. It's starting to look a little bit more realistic now. I love it. I love seeing how it all comes together at the end. Follow the same pattern as you did on the first bud to complete the rest of your thorns and the second bud, as well. I'll see you in the next video. 6. Final Thoughts: You so much for joining me today. I hope you feel more confident in blending colors and working with watercolors. I would really like to see your class project, your completed class project. Please share it by submitting it to the My project section. And if you have Instagram, find me an Instagram and tag me on your completed project. I'd love to feature it in my stories. If you enjoy this class, please leave a review and try some of my other Skillshare classes. Well, that's all from me for today. I hope to see you soon. Bye.