Sushma Hegde - Wildflower Watercolor: The Beginner’s Guide to Painting Beautiful Florals

The Beginners Guide to Painting Beautiful Florals

SUSHMA HEGDE

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TO MY MOTHER, NIRMALA, WHO TAUGHT ME TO FIND JOY IN THE LITTLE THINGS IN NATURE.

The beautiful and resilient wildflowers that grow next to roads or peek out of stone walls and crevices have always been an inspiration for me. During my early morning walks in the nearby forest and fields, I spend a lot of time spotting new wildflowers and herbs, while observing their colors and shapes. This process brings me immense joy and puts me in the right mindset to begin my day. I have always tried to capture this feeling in my creative process, in the form of wildflower dyes and inks, cyanotypes, herbal concoctions and, of course, paintings. My paintings reflect my appreciation of natures beauty, imperfections and colors.

In this step-by-step workbook, we will create an array of wildflowers and flowering herbs using a range of techniques and colors. At the end of this book, we will also bring together some of the wildflowers to create bouquets in order to understand floral compositions.

As you dive into the book, you will see that instead of starting with a pencil sketch (which is a common approach), all of the flower paintings start directly with watercolors. This approach will help keep your brushstrokes loose and whimsical without being too restricted by pencil marks.

Remember that we are not trying to create photo-realistic images, but are instead giving the impression of flowers by focusing on their colors, shapes and sizes. We will try to embrace imperfections in our brushstrokes to add whimsy and movement to our paintings. Watercolors greatly help in this loose approach because of their fluidic nature and ease of movement on the paper. This will help us let go in the areas where we have no control over the painting and enjoy the spontaneity of the medium.

I hope this book acts as a springboard for your creative journey. It may sometimes push you out of your comfort zone, which is a good thing when you want to learn something new. When you think you have failed and want to give up, or when you are intimidated to start a painting, remember that the only thing you have to lose is a piece of paper, and then, start over.

There are endless ways of interpreting and painting flowers. Use this book as a guide to see some of the possibilities and learn the techniques involved. I hope this book encourages you to go out, explore and find what brings you joy and paint those flowers.

I would love to see what you create from this book. You can share your paintings with me on Instagram @sushhegde using the hashtag #wildflowerwatercolor.

Choosing the right materials may seem confusing for beginners. There are so many different kinds of brushes, paper and paints on the market that it gets really hard to pick the right tools that work for you. When you see that the artists you admire are all using different materials, it just adds to the confusion. Remember that each artist is different and has different preferences. What seems best for one artist may not be a good option for another.

To keep it simple, start with just a few basic supplies, and then slowly add new ones when you understand your painting style and want to try new things.

Watercolor paper comes in a variety of textures, materials, thicknesses and forms, and every combination could give you a different result.

Fine grain paper that has a slight grainy texture on it works great for most watercolor techniques. I use cold press watercolor paper, which is also known as NOT in the UK (not hot pressed). This is fine-grain paper and works very well for painting loose flowers and landscapes.

The most commonly used watercolor papers are made of cotton, cellulose or a mix of the two. I generally stick to 100 percent cotton paper, as it has great absorbency, and the paper stays wet for longer. This is very helpful when you want to seamlessly blend two colors. A 50 percent, or more, cotton paper also works well for all the projects in this book.

If you add too much water to thin paper, it might easily buckle and tear. I generally stick to 140lb (300gsm) paper or thicker, as it allows me to use plenty of water and does not buckle easily.

The paper you use can be in the form of a sketchbook, a paper block or simply a singular piece of paper. I have used loose sheets of paper for all the projects in this book, but you can use whichever form you prefer.

If you are just getting started with watercolors, buy a set of artist-grade watercolors that contain two shades (warm and cool) of yellow, red and blue, and a few greens and browns. This will help you get started without overwhelming you with all the options that are available. Some of the artist-grade watercolors that I like are from the following brands: Daniel Smith, Schmincke, Winsor & Newton, White Nights Watercolors (formerly known as St. Petersburg Watercolors) and Sennelier.

You can buy watercolors in pans or tubes. They are the same, simply packaged in different ways. Choose whichever you like, based on your convenience. Watercolor pans are especially useful when you are traveling as they are light and fit compactly in a tin palette box. On the other hand, tubes are useful when you need lots of color, especially when you are painting on a large sheet of paper.

Above is a list of colors that I mostly use. You most certainly do not need so many colors, or even the exact same colors, to create a good painting. Use colors of your choice, or if you are not sure, choose colors close to those that I use.

To paint flowers, I mostly use round and filbert brushes.

Round brushes are the most commonly used brushes with watercolors and are very versatile. I would suggest buying three or four round brushes of different sizes. These could be:

One small round brush for fine details, like a size 2 brush

One medium-sized round brush for the flowers and leaves, like a size 4 or a size 6 brush

One big round brush to add looser and bigger strokes, like a size 8 or a size 10 brush