Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and nature is vibrant with colors.
Spring season is upon us and there's so much inspiration to paint from!
Painting beautiful spring landscape is one of the many things that bring me joy. It's also one of the many reasons I created the Beauty in Bloom Bundle.
This bundle was intentionally created for watercolor artists who are a little further along in their journey and looking to challenge their skills beyond the typical YouTube tutorial.
If you fall into this category, have you ever wondered what secret skill is it that takes you from a pretty decent artist to an advanced one?
Truth is, it doesn't exist! More advanced pieces don't require any sort of elaborate, complicated secret skill.
The “secret” to painting more advanced pieces is leaning on foundational painting techniques you ALREADY know to create the final result you want.
That's it!
With my Spring Bundle painting, you'll paint cherry blossoms, birds, and meadows (just to name a few!). But the best part is that all of these paintings are based on foundational watercolor techniques.
So I thought I would take some time to share the story behind each painting you'll learn inside the Beauty in Bloom Bundle and also the not-so-complicated techniques behind them:
Cherry Blossom
You know it's springtime when the pink and white petals of Cherry blossoms start to bloom and they're everywhere. It's pretty much a symbol of spring! That's why I made the Cherry Blossom the first painting featured inside the Bundle. Check out some of the techniques I used:
- Applying Masking fluid – which is a pigmented liquid that masks areas that need protection when color is applied in broad washes
- Wet to wet for a soft bouquet effect on the flowers
- Wet on dry for precise details
- Gouache for white highlights
- Layering to ensure areas are lit correctly and overlapping colors
Early Bird Sunrise
Another symbol of spring is the Robin. Robins are these cute, little birds that migrate to the Americas during warmer seasons. These birds are adorable to paint, especially when they're perched upon flowers – the lighting on this painting shines but creates softness.
You can create this similar effect and more with:
- Wet on wet to create the bouquet effect
- Layering for intensifying colors and to create depth
- Blending to add dimension to the petals
- Negative painting for the leaves
- Wet on dry for the bird's details
- Gouache to add softness of white
Meadow
Spring isn't just about cherry blossoms, there are plenty of other flowers that also bloom during the season. Daisies are another group of flowers that come to life during the springtime. In this painting of meadows, you will see clear skies and the sun shining on the grass — giving it a fresh look.
Using these techniques will help bring your painting come to life:
- Masking for the white flowers
- Wet on wet for clouds and fields
- Wet on dry for trees in the back
- Splattering of white dots to give the illusion of more flowers
Tulip Field
The Netherlands is known for its fields of gorgeous tulips during the spring and they're a great inspiration to paint. In this painting, there are windmills and mountains that are also very common in the Netherlands. (And, cheese!) This painting also uses some of the other foundational techniques I've talked about so far:
- Blending for the cotton-colored candy sky
- Negative painting and wet on wet for the tulips
- Wet on dry for the windmill and mountains in the back
You probably noticed that most of these foundational techniques are used in almost every painting. Although these core techniques might look a little complicated, they are simple to use once you get the hang of them. With these few core techniques, you're able to paint all sorts of pictures.
Interested in learning these techniques and more while painting Spring pictures?
Jump inside the Beauty in Bloom Bundle and learn how to paint some of your favorite seasonal things!