Painting Flowers - How to Paint White Roses

Flowers seem to naturally lend themselves to watercolor painting. They can be painted in a loose, graceful style or with controlled precision. When painting flowers, choose a style which feels natural to you as you plan your composition.

Roses are such well-loved flowers, and are a popular choice for watercolors. To begin a painting of roses, do a sketch of your vase and flowers. Decide ahead of time how you will handle your background. When painting white flowers it is a good idea to have a dark background which will help your roses to "pop" or to stand out. Show in your pencil value sketch where you brightest whites and darkest darks will be placed. Plan your focal point, placing this area off-center to add more interest. Do the same with your vase. If it is in the middle of your paper it will be less interesting.

Once your value sketch is completed and your subject has been penciled in on your watercolor paper you are ready to paint. If you want to use masking fluid to preserve some of your white paper, this is the time to apply it. Remember to wet your brush, then coat it with soap before dipping it into te masking fluid! If this step is overlooked, you may not be able to remove the masking fluid from your brush and it will be ruined. ( Some of the masking fluids come with an applicator.) Once it has dried, you will paint right over it. When your painting is complete, it can be removed with an eraser or your finger, revealing the preserved area of white paper.

Some of your white roses need not be white! A diluted wash of rose madder genuine on some petals, and aureolin yellow on others will give your painting some depth. Mix these two colors together, and use as a light wash to give more interest to your painting.

Vary your leaves and stems. Have some leaves twist and curl. Show more detail in your foreground and let some fade off into the background. Remember your light source throughout your painting. Give your stems a delicate curve, don't use straight lines. Use a variety of greens, both cool and warm. Practice mixing greens.

Paint highlights on your vase, but don't overdo. This is a case of less is more. One or two well placed highlights is much more effective than many. One additional thought; a fallen petal or two can add a nice touch.

Sue Doucette Author/Artist

I have been painting with watercolor for many years and am happy to share what I have learned with you. For more painting tips, please visit http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/Hints-For-Painters.html.

To see more artwork, visit http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/portfolio.html.

I welcome commissions and can work from your photograph.

Original article

Painting Flowers - How to Paint Blooming Roses

Roses in various stages of blooming can make a beautiful watercolor painting. For this lesson, let's use yellow roses in a clear vase. If painting a dozen roses, only a few need to be in full detail. Others can be seen in the background, giving your painting depth and interest. Some will be facing forward, others to the side and back. Different heights and angles keep the viewer interested.

Start by making a pencil value sketch of your composition. Indicate where your lightest lights and darkest darks will be placed. Decide where your focal point will be. (try placing it off-center.) Show the rose petals curling and turning on the edges. Some may be more open than others. Carefully draw the center petals. Once your sketch is complete, you are ready to pencil it on to your watercolor paper.

For the roses in the foreground aureolin yellow and cadmium yellow will be your major colors, but each flower may have two or three different hues. For instance, the yellow of your rose may be complimented with soft violet in some of the folds and shadows of the flower. Painting flowers allows for much creativity, since no two will be exactly alike. Use a light wash of aureolin for your lightest lights. Mix together aureolin yellow and rose madder genuine for another soft, transparent color. Use this where your values are a little darker than where you used aureolin only. Add cadmium yellow for your deeper yellows. If some of your flowers are casting shadows on others, indicate this with a light wash of violet, made from combining rose madder genuine with cobalt blue.

Use a variety of colors for your stems and leaves. I prefer to mix my own greens, but there are some good greens available from the art supply stores. Viridian green is a nice transparent cool green. This can be mixed with aurelin yellow for a lighter green. Experiment with mixing greens. Your painting will be much more interesting if you don't use just one shade of green. Have your stems curve slightly and remember to indicate your light source throughout your painting.

Use some of your colors from your roses as a soft wash for your vase. Show one or two highlights on your vase where the light lands. Don't overdo. This is a case where less is more. Remember to paint the shadow cast by the vase. Use some of the colors from your painting for this also and you should have a lovely painting of yellow roses.

Sue Doucette, Author/Artist

I have been painting with watercolor for many years, and am happy to share with you what I have learned. For more helpful painting tips, please visit http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/Hints-For-Painters.html

To see more examples of watercolors, visit http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/portfolio.html.

I welcome commissions and can work from your photograph.

Original article

Watercolours of beautiful flowers

Watercolour can capture flowers in beautiful manner. The transparency of the medium allows the artist to use it to his advantage, capturing the delicate complexities of the flower. If painted the meaning of "full air" doors, or a still life in his studio, flowers offer unlimited possibilities when he painted in watercolour.

I would like to share some of my color preferred with you and encourage you to use your own as well. For many years, I've included real garance pink, blue cobalt, green and yellow Aureolin Viridian on my palette. Mixture of two of these together will give you a clean and fresh color transparent that you trust not to transform "muddy." Practice different combinations of these four colors to see what your results will be and keep a chart of these samples of mixture in the vicinity. Jot down the colours have been used next to each experience for your own reference. I also use Burnt Sienna and when they are mixed with blue Cobalt makes a soft fresh grey.

Another consideration in flowers in watercolor painting is how to mix the Greens whose natural appearance. I suggest to an another graph sample with various combinations (of the above colors) with Viridian green as your starting point. Then try this new exercise substituting Winsor green for the Viridian. Winsor Green is a dark green, more dynamic, but not "flying" paper as easily as Viridian, if you want to make changes. Only do combinations of two colors, that the addition of only one-third can result in an opaque "mud." I prefer to mix my own Greens and find their more realistic and true to the color found in nature.

Watercolor paper, my personal preference is 140 lb cold pressed watercolor paper Arches. In my view, that he brandishes or suppression of some paintings, with a soft brush or a watercolor brush to "thrown". This is something with which to experiment. Some colours are "spots" and will not completely lift your paint. Keep track of these and use them with caution. Painting with some Watercolour brushes you feel uncomfortable, after having tried brands and sizes. Art supply stores most will guide you to this area.

You may want to begin by placing of fresh cut flowers in a vase with a light source with one hand. This will be their shadows to become one of your design elements. Do not place your vase in the center of the paper. Put a little offset will be a much more interesting composition. Fill your paper with your flowers and leave a certain drift off the coast of the page. Vary your borders; have some hard and other soft provide a contrast. Let some of your mixture of colors directly on the page. Use a range of values, the white of the paper to the dark rich. Try even as regards your painting reversed to get a feeling where changes should be made.

Carefully consider the petals of the flower. Observe how they curl and how each is unique in shape and size. Look closely at the stem. They are straight or that they bend slightly? Are there variations in colour? How the leaves are attached to the plant? Keep these thoughts in mind that you paint and take advantage of the process. Don't worry about the final result. You can go back and make changes later. For the moment simply to have fun.

Sue Doucette

http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com.

I paint watercolors for 25 years and I am happy to share what I learned with you. Many artists want to keep their secret "tricks of the trade", but I am not one of them. A large part of what I learned was by trial and error, and by sharing with you, I hope that you will love the watercolor painting as much as I do!

Visit my site web http://www.capecodwatercolor.com/ and check my "new" section for my tips monthly for painters. Do not hesitate to contact me with your questions, you may have. I also paint ordered parts and can work from your photo.

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