How to Paint Loose Watercolor Poppies

In this video I’m bringing a bit of color into a grey January day and enjoying some loose poppy painting. This tutorial is for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced watercolor painter.  Relax and let the color and the water do the work as you sketch a loose design and simply enjoy the process. Learn more about different shades of the color red, and practice loose brushwork, and at the same time each brushstroke brings you closer to discovering your own personal art style.

How to Paint Loose Watercolor Poppies

There are so many ways to paint poppies, which are possibly the most frequently painted flower out there. Second perhaps to roses, but when you think about how many times Monet painted poppy fields, and how many different versions you’ve seen over the years, I think poppies are probably the winner.

Paintings of poppies range from the absolute photo-realist version with every molecule carefully painted into place, all the way down to childish red scribbles which, despite their juvenile aspect, do convey something of the playfulness of these very ephemeral flowers.

I try to sit somewhere in the middle region of the panoply of possible styles, with my loose, impressionistic, sketchy paintings which I’ve been developing for the last couple of decades.

This video shows how in 20 short minutes you can paint a rendition of poppies which would make a sweet gift for a poppy lover, a pretty phone wallpaper or a lovely greetings card. Let’s take a look at the materials you will need to get started. You’ll find the free YouTube video link at the bottom of the page and the free sketch download here:

Materials

Clairefontaine Etival Paper:  https://amzn.to/3DacXzg

ZenArt Brush Set: https://shop.zenartsupplies.co/?ref=OexsWLBNCDPVBE

Staedtler Karat Aquarel Black Watercolor Pencil:  https://amzn.to/2Ym4Q33 

Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolors: https://tinyurl.com/mr47k77j

How to Paint the Poppies

This video shows how in 20 short minutes you can paint a rendition of poppies which would make a sweet gift for a poppy lover, a pretty phone wallpaper or a lovely greetings card. Let’s take a look at the materials you will need to get started. You’ll find the free YouTube video link at the bottom of the page and the free sketch download here:

Here is a link to a YouTube playlist of 17 poppy paintings you might like to try:

And here is a link to a YouTube playlist of my favorite studio techniques.

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