How to create a succulent painting in watercolour

How to Paint a Succulent with Premium Watercolour

Copyright of Mont International Pty Ltd The materials for this lesson can be found at a Gold or above Art Centre. Go to to find the one nearest to you. PMHS0054 Mont Marte Watercolour Premium Paint Set 18x8ml MSB0065 Mont Marte A3 Watercolour Pad 300gsm MPN0026 Mont Marte Drawing Set 8pce MPB0089 Mont Marte Traditional Mop Brush #2 MPB0091 Mont Marte Watercolour Round #4 MCG0123 Mont Marte Taklon Liner 2/0 MAXX0019 Mont Marte Plastic Brush Washer MAPL0009 Mont Marte Airtight Watercolour Palette Also required: Water Tissues Materials Lis t . . .

We suggest using the 300gsm watercolour paper in this project. Always keep a tissue handy to mop up any paint if it goes where it is not supposed to. Try not to paint over a partially dry coat. 1. Transferring the succulent image Use the first image in the PDF and turn it face down and shade the backside of it with a 6B pencil. Turn the image back over and lay it shaded side down on to a sheet of 300gsm watercolour. Tape the image sheet into position and use a blunt HB pencil to retrace the image. Don’t press too hard though as you can indent the paper. Remove the image sheet and redraw in the succulent with a HB pencil. Draw in any lines to remind you of where to separate colours and to lay in shadows. 2. Laying in the base wash Squeeze out the following colours into an airtight palette: Lemon Yellow, Gamboge, Cadmium Yellow, Viridian Green, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Cadmium Red Deep, Sap Green, Yellow Ochre and Lamp Black. Create a watery mix of Sap Green and Cerulean Blue. Lay this colour over the entire succulent using a #2 Traditional Mop Brush. Let this coat dry. 2 1

3. Laying in the mid washes In this stage we have to lay in the middle tones. First create a watery mix of Cadmium Red Deep and lay it onto the edge of the petals. Next create a Yellow from Lemon Yellow, Gamboge and Yellow Ochre. Lay this into the petals that lie around the edge of the succulent. The third mid wash is a Green mixed from Sap Green, Viridian Green with a touch of Ochre. Lay this colour into the leaves but don’t take the colour into the Red. Apply the colour in little dabs to create texture. Apply it stronger on the outer leaves applying lighter tones as you move into the centre on the succulent. Refer to the second reference sheet and observe which areas of the succulent are predominantly blue. These areas should be free of any green colour. The fourth wash is created from Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue and a touch of Dioxazine Purple. Lay this wash thinly into the outer lying leaves and concentrate the mix stronger around the centre of the succulent. 1 4. Laying in the dark wash The final large wash is created from Sap Green, Cadmium Red Deep, Viridian and Ultramarine Blue. This is laid onto the petals with most of the pigment being concentrated in the centre of each petal. The petals are a concave shape so leave the edges free of tone to suggest this. Pay close attention to the reference image and paint what you see. Create the same mix as the previous but add a touch of Lamp Black. Make sure not too much Black is used or the mix will be too strong. Lay this mix into any areas of shadow. You will notice dark shadow lays at the base of the cluster of petals at the very centre of the succulent and on the underside of the succulent due to the light source emitting from the top. Use the 2/0 Detailer brushto lay any resulting cast shadows on the petals at this stage also. 3 4 It is strongly recommended to watch the accompanying video to fa miliarize yourself with each step.

5 5. Enhancing By this stage the painting is basically complete but we need to go through and enhance any areas that need it. Have a good look and darken any areas that need it. Add a strong Cadmium Red Deep mix over the existing red wash. Little tricks like this will make the painting pop. It is a good idea to test each new mix created on a spare sheet of paper which is the sa me kind you are using on the project before you commit to the main project.