For the ground, use the vibrant colors of Cadmium Yellow Lemon and Cobalt Green to layer a few strokes in using both the wet-on-dry and the wet-in-wet techniques. Pro Tip: For a softer blend, adding wet paint to a wet surface – called the “wet-in-wet” technique – is perfect! Then, mix Jaune Brilliant #2, Brilliant Orange, and Crimson Lake, and brush the resulting color lightly on the ground to represent cherry blossom petals that have fallen to the ground. Finally, add a light sweep of diluted Indigo to illustrate the tree’s shadow. And you’re done! With just a couple of easy watercolor techniques, you can capture the ethereal beauty of springtime in Japan, or even Canada or the U.S.!
Easy Watercolor Techniques: Painting Japanese Flowers Within 5 Minutes
This is the perfect season for inspiration, so let’s create a watercolor painting of a Japanese cherry blossom tree (a.k.a. sakura tree) using easy watercolor techniques! This one’s pretty easy; it won’t take more than 5 minutes of your time. Just follow the quick steps below!
- Sketchbook (size 12″ x 16″)
- Cold press watercolor pad (140lb, size 12″ x 16″)
- 2B Pencil
- Blow dryer
- Roll of toilet paper
Paints (Holbein Artists’ Watercolors)
- Crimson Lake
- Jaune Brilliant #2
- Cadmium Yellow Lemon
- Peacock Blue
- Burnt Umber
- Prussian Blue
- Cobalt Green
- Brilliant Orange
- Indigo
Brushes
- Round brush (no. 12)
- Round brush (no. 8)
Step 1: Sketch Your Cherry Blossom Tree
Practice sketching the general shape and tones in a tree by establishing where the light hits and where the shadows will be cast. In this tutorial, our artist, Mr. Shibasaki, creates some shapes to illustrate the shading of the tree itself, as well as the “holes” where there are gaps in the leaves, to make the painting more realistic. He also recommends not to make the sketch too precise. He starts with practicing a simplified tree, then for the real painting, he sketches out an actual, spiky tree shape with irregular holes. In the same way, when you get a good grasp on where the light is coming from and where to add the holes, you can move from practicing in your sketchpad to drawing a more detailed tree in your watercolor pad.
Step 2: Paint The First Layer of Your Japanese Flowers
Using a round brush (no. 12), start with very light brushstrokes of a diluted mixture of Crimson Lake and Jaune Brilliant #2. And while painting loosely, use the wet-on-dry technique (i.e. wet paint on a dry surface) to paint the upper area of the tree while avoiding your highlights. For the middle and lower sections of the tree, paint on a denser layer of the same colors. And then add a bit of Peacock Blue to your mixture, and dot this in several areas for some mid-tones. Repeat the same process, but again do this with a thicker wash of paint. This will give you a darker purple hue. You can also try splattering the paint towards the center for a more natural effect.
How to Create Simple Watercolor Flowers
Beginner artists sometimes find it daunting to paint flowers. When this happens, I always tell my students to take a deep calming breath start seeing the world in simple shapes. Everything is composed of shapes, so looking at your subject, consider the general recognizable outside shape. This works for almost any subject, whether it’s a building, a figure, scenery, fruit, flowers, or animal. Since many people want to enjoy painting simple watercolor flowers, I’ll share easy-to-follow steps to do them here. We’re painting a tulip on this example, but feel free to go for any other flower. The important thing is to think simple. If you’re painting a different flower, you can apply similar methods.
When drawing almost any shape, consider doing a continuous line drawing. Especially with organic shapes, you can draw with flowing lines. For a simple tulip, you’ll simply need a couple of oval shapes and lines. The secret here is to take your line on a journey. This ensures your tulip features a more organic shape. Like using a fine point permanent marker to draw, it makes me accept my imperfect lines and go with the flow.
Step Two: Wet the paper.
Wet-on-wet watercolor painting allows the colors to mingle freely. You can control where the paint flows by just putting water down within the flower shape. Let’s begin with painting inside the general tulip shape with clear water. You don’t want a puddle of water–just a thin layer of water, so if you held it up, it wouldn’t drip off the paper.
Once you’re done wetting your flower, apply New Gamboge on the tulip petals as your first layer. Work quickly so the color flows. I like to use the side of my brush to cover more area quickly. You don’t have to have the exact same colors as mine; any yellow will do.
Step Four: Apply the Second Color
While the petals are still wet, brush in some Cadmium Orange around the edges. You can pick any color to act as your petals’ second color; rose or red could be pretty too. Try not to over mix your colors as you paint—let the colors just mingle wet-in-wet. Think “get in and get out” to keep your painting loose and fresh.
Pull some of the tulip floral colors down into the stem, then add some Phthalo Yellow Green and brush down the stem. Other greens will work too.
