Bitesize

Paint vibrant petals

in watercolour
FLOWERS are always lovely subjects
to paint, but their complex petals can
often be difficult to get right. By looking
at the contrasting effects of highlights,
midtones and shadows on a single
petal, I will show you how to get a more
realistic, tonal appearance with just a
few techniques, and only three basic
mixes on the palette.

JARNIE GODWIN
London, UK Mixing shadow tones
Working as a botanical I always mix my own shadow tones using transparent red,
watercolour artist, tutor and
blue and yellow. Mixing the three primary colours together
blogger, Jarnie is known for
her quirky compositions will always create black. Many premixed greys contain
of imperfect subjects. opaque pigments that can dull a mix.
www.sketchbooksquirrel.com

Follow these steps...

1 2
First wash
After laying a glaze of
clean water, I drop in the
lightest colour. While the
glaze is still wet, I continue to
build up the tone where I need
to by adding more touches of
paint several times. Lifting
colour with a clean, damp
brush maintains any
highlights and softens the
finish. Let each layer dry
before applying the next.
The midtone
Now onto the midtone,
which will form the
actual colour of the petal.
Working as before, I let the
water glaze settle before
dropping in the second
colour. Keeping the paint
away from the brightest
highlight, I leave plenty of
the first wash visible. Again, I
use a clean, damp brush to
lift off any unwanted colour.
3 4
Details
Shadows offer the
deepest tones and
will give the petal a three-
dimensional appearance.
Another glaze helps the darkest
paint spread, softly building the
deeper tones, and creating
higher contrast and tone. With
more variation and contrast it
will look more lifelike. At this
stage, wet-on-dry details can
also be introduced.
Build depth
Working wet on dry, I
apply the deepest
colour only where I want it.
This builds more depth and
movement with several
layers of paint. I also soften
the edges with a clean, damp
brush. The characteristic
markings are softened with
several complex overglazes,
made by mixing the hues on
the palette together.

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Develop skills

Paint realistic
copper effects
PAINTING METAL EFFECTS is based
on the contrast of light and dark in
addition to environmental reflections.
For this example, I’ll take an old copper
glass holder standing on a glass surface.
Any form is based on alternating tones:
midtone-light-midtone-shadow-
reflection. But copper also needs to
include colour variations, made by
combining contrasts and additional
colours. The most difficult part is to not
get lost in all of those details.

OLGA STERNYK
Kyiv, Ukraine
Art graduate Olga has
Pain t glossy surfaces
illustrated several books, and When painting glossy surfaces, make the
has exhibited in Europe. highlights white, or almost white. They
Having experimented with should be very sharp and small. Shadows
many mediums in her time,
are also small and dark. Midtones are filled
she currently works primarily
in watercolour. with small reflections.
www.sternyk.com

Follow these steps...

2
Add contrast

1 3
Layer one
On the first layer I place
local colours for the
object and background. I
separate light from shadow
and leave the highlights. If
paint accidentally gets into a
highlight, I remove it with
some paper towel. After that,
I wet the area and dry it with
the towel again. The local
colour for the glass holder is
warm, the background is cold.
Now I add engraving. It
should contrast to a
light part. That’s why I paint
the engraving as cold and
dark while the local colour
remains warm. But the
engraving should not be
darker than the main
shadow. Shadows must
always remain darker than
any contrasts to a light part.
Also, no engraving should be
visible in the shadows.
Warm and cold
Here I add warm and
cold tones. Copper is
full of colours – it varies from
yellow, orange, brown,
green, cold grey and blue.
Highlights may be bright
white and shadows are
almost black. Because of
these variations, highlights
will be warm, midtones are
cold, shadows are warm, and
reflections are cold.
4
Get detailed
At this point I take my
smallest brush and
paint the tiny details. It is
important to assess the
whole painting again. I add
details and boost contrast in
the midtones and shadows.
But don’t get too bogged
down – it is also important to
ignore unnecessary details
because it will make the
painting more expressive.

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