I would like to show you how I paint my little flower cards and that you could do the same even if you’re a painting beginner. There are just a few simple steps to follow and you can paint this poppy easily. At the end I’ll show you how I add a little “Thank you” or “Have a nice day” message.
I really like watercolor because it’s very forgiving and you can create beautiful effects with it. I painted the 2019 Christmas cards with watercolors and also the Scratch-off love card, I really enjoy combining the watercolor with ink pen as you can see;-) Browse the Arts and Crafts cathegory for more creative techniques.
Table of Contents
Supplies to Paint the Poppy
– watercolors
– small round brush
– pencil
– heavy paper for painting
– ink pen
– picture of a flower
How to Paint the Poppy
Tracing and First Layers
If you can’t paint without seeing what you paint, get a picture of a poppy, just on your cellphone or computer.
Trace the outlines of the flower and the petals with a pencil. No need to draw any details, just the most important parts.
Make your brush wet and add just a very little red watercolor to it and fill in what you’ve drawn with the pencil. You see how my color is so light that you can clearly see the pencil traces. The trick is to work is layers with the watercolor paint.
Add just a little more color, as little as possible and dip the brush where you want the petals of the poppy to be darker. The paint will blend nicely into the previous layer.
Adding More Layers
Add a bit more color only to the darkest parts of your poppy.
Now, keep adding just a bit more color to every layer making them darker and darker until you’re happy with the result.
For the parts that are of the brightest red, dip the tip of the paintbrush in red with little water and then tap the bright red parts of the poppy. Then add just a little more water with your brush, ust to smudge the paint without making it run all over your painting.
Do the same in all the bright red parts.
This was my result when I was finished with the red color, you can keep adding color, if you want.
Final Touch and Stalk
Draw the pistil with the seeds in the center of the flower, no need to go in much detail.
I like to write the note as a part of the stalk as you can see.
Let everything dry and you’re done!
