How I watercolor flowers with my style

by Haejin Park March 28, 2021

I have been always fascinated by flowers. My recent trip to SF botanical garden made me want to do a flower study. I saw so many cool flowers and variations that made me so happy and inspired. Later I made it into an art print so I can share it with you guys. Here are the BTS of how I made the exotic flower print!

Materials & Reference

Before I start, I collected strange and interesting flower pictures. I printed them out to have them near my desk to reference as I paint.

watercolor tutorial

Also want to share my favorite watercolor materials 💫

Arches Cold Press Paper - https://amzn.to/3cpXqQk
Princeton Brush - https://amzn.to/3roLmmv
Sennelier Watercolor Paint - https://amzn.to/39fjxHa
Mijello Watercolor Palette - https://amzn.to/31mF6Bl

Learn more about my favorite watercolor materials* and why on this blog post.

Step-by-step process

1. Outline the shape of the flower

To start, I outlined the flower silhouette and filled it up fast before the outline dries. Towards the middle, I am blending using a little bit of water.

how to watercolor flowers step by step

2. Work on the detail before the paint dries

I added a black dot in the center with little bit of blue to give a contrast using a tiny brush.

watercolor_red_flower_tutorial

3. Wait until the paint is dry and apply more details

I added the little yellow circle to give a little bit of punch as an accent.

~ Let's try another one! 😊 this time I am doing a flower patel with pink to yellow gradation.

flower art print tutorial
and I added little red dots when it's almost dry but not completely dry. This let the paint bleed into the layer under and create this amazing pattern.

watercolor flower interesting tutorial

And when the paint of the petals dried, I filled up the circle using orange paint and left a white negative space to add details.

Watch how to watercolor flowers!

This is a video of me going through the process in dept! You can also subscribe to my channel to see more videos 💞

Here are more flowers that I painted with more complex and interesting shapes. This green one is cool! it has a long lace design. It kind of looks like an alien!

watercolor tutorial flowers

watercolor haejinduck tutorial

Okay, so let's recap the flower painting process! First, I start with a big shape and you can do an outline. And then, add details while the paint is still wet, to get wet on the wet effect. Or wait until it's completely dry to add some designs.

Exotic flower print

I made my painting into a fine watercolor print ❤️ one of my favorite product on my shop. I think it is an evergreen and lovely print you can keep for a long time. Shop here!

flower watercolor process botanical art haejinduck

My thoughts & advice

This is not like an easy flower tutorial for beginners, it is advanced and stylish. It took me a while to learn how to paint with my style. I think nature is a perfect place to start and find your own art style! Nature give such a great lesson and inspiration 🌸_🌼

Haejin Park is an award winning illustrator living in USA. She sells stationery and art prints on haejinduck. @haejinduck

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