🌸 Sneak Peek: May Tutorial – Pink Watercolor Rose 🌸 (Patreon)

🌹 This watercolor rose might look intricate at first glance… but I promise, it’s much easier than it appears. We’re building this painting with just two simple layers of color - that’s it! The real “secret” isn’t complexity, it’s simply working in a calm, organized way: letting each petal settle before moving to the next, and avoiding painting right beside areas that are still drying so everything stays soft and controlled.

This tutorial is coming out next week, and we’ll focus on a few essential (and quite beginner-friendly) botanical techniques:✨ Wet-on-wet for the first layer to create that soft, glowing foundation of color✨ Wet-on-dry for adding gentle petal texture and definition✨ A bit of lifting with a flat brush throughout to bring back highlights and shape

It’s the perfect exercise if you want to build confidence with florals—these are the exact techniques you’ll use again and again for any flower you paint.

🎨 For colors, we’ll keep it beautifully simple and flexible:

Quinacridone Red (PV19) as the main base — but feel free to use your favourite rose/red quinacridone

Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65) or any warm yellow you love

Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet (PR209) or any favourite reddish brown to enrich the deeper tones

Neutral Tint or any dark color for the stamens

🎨 As always, I’ll sprinkle in a few completely optional extras: a touch of Opera Pink and Coral for extra glow on the petal tips, plus Hooker’s Green and Dioxazine Purple for shadows.

If you’re exploring botanical watercolor and want to better understand how realistic florals come together, this is such a lovely, approachable study. I’ll talk you through every step, so you can focus on the process, enjoy the rose, and come away with techniques you can carry into all your future flowers.

Can’t wait to paint this one with you 💗✨