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Hi everyone,

Here is a fairly simple pansy that I painted for those of you who are new to painting in watercolour. You don't need to use the same colours that I used. Use whatever you have that looks similar or you could change it altogether and have a violet pansy. You could practice painting this many times.

I have included some information about the wetness of your paper in this tutorial.

I have made another tutorial about paper wetness here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31044528

All of the files you need to complete the painting are attached below my message here.

I hope you enjoy it.

Louise

💕

Tutorial Indexes

My website tutorial where you can see the image of the painting and click on it: http://www.louisedemasi.com/new-index

The word index here on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/34865676

Copyright Information:

My tutorials are designed to help you on your creative journey. Any painting you create from a tutorial where I use my own reference photo is for personal use only. They can't be sold or entered into an art competition. I write on the Supplies Lists where the photos come from. Permission is not given to paint any of my earlier paintings that are not tutorials because some of them are licensed. Also, a few of my earlier paintings were painted from photographs where I sought the permission of the photographer. The photographer gave me permission to use it, not others.

If I do a tutorial where I use another photographer's photo (eg from Pixabay or Unsplash) that is available for anyone throughout the world to download (copyright free) and use I’m happy for you to sell the paintings you create from the tutorial.

If I do a tutorial and I use a photo that I have paid for and downloaded from the website Wildlife Reference Photos in order for you to sell the painting you create from the tutorial you need to purchase and download the photograph yourself. This is in accordance with the Terms and Services of the Wildlife Reference Photo website.

If you share a finished painting on social media I would really appreciate it if you could link back to my account (be it on Facebook, YouTube or Instagram) and mention that you painted it in one of my tutorials. @louisedemasi

Thank you!

Files

Pansy for Beginners Patreon

Louise De Masi©

Comments

Sanctity Johnson

Thank you very much for including the measurements of the actual flower. I love your detailed and specific instructions so that a clueless beginner like me can easily follow along. Your teaching style is extremely effective. Much appreciated!

Kimberly Rombaut

Hi! I am busy painting this one and I was wondering if it is normal for the 2 different colors to separate on the paper (burnt Sienna and French ultramarine)?

Louise De Masi

Hi Kimberly, yes it's normal and it's part of the beauty of painting with watercolour. It has a mind of its own and it often surprises you. Don't be concerned about it.

Kimberly Rombaut

It is indeed a surprise but beautiful anyhow. I am very happy with how the painting turned out. Can I ask one more thing? Do you feel painting on bigger paper is easier than smaller paper? I painted this on a size smaller than a4 (Winsor newton paper) and ran into some difficulties with the violet lines

Louise De Masi

That's great that the painting turned out! Yes I do find painting on larger paper easier.

Anne Watman

I started working on this yesterday, and finished today. I started out great, and was really happy with my petals. However, when I got to the purple lines, things didn’t go well at all. At first, I was discouraged, although I tried to “fix” things (not great). However, I decided I’m going to try it again. Maybe I’ll try practicing those purple lines on a separate piece of paper to see if I can come closer to the right wetness on my paper and the right amount of paint on my brush.

Anne Watman

I did this a second time, and I had so much more confidence. I even had a little more control, and I felt like I was able to do a better job of getting the edges, bringing down some color. Does mine look like yours? No! But, it’s not bad at all!

Louise De Masi

Fantastic Anne! That makes me very happy to know. It's good that you painted it more than once. That's the best way to learn.

Kim Oanh Dao

Hi Louise, it's been 3 weeks now that I'm on your patreon and I'm so delighted with this wonderful on-line class in all aspects. I practice every single day and learned so much in a short period of time. I made a list with all the tutorials I want to work on that I followed by the book and until now, I'm very pleased with the result. I'm so grateful for these moments of joy Louise.

Kim Oanh Dao

I have a question concerning the pansy tutorial. On youtube, you also posted a tutorial with the pansy but they're

Kim Oanh Dao

Oups, I'm sorry for cutting... The pansies on youtube are purple and I would love to try them. You mentionned that they're also on patreon but I wasn't able to find it. Could you please tell me if it exists on patreon? Thank you Louise.

Louise De Masi

Hi Kim, That's wonderful! I'm very happy to know that. The pansy tutorial on YouTube was created before I started here on Patreon. I was in the process of learning how to use Patreon and set it up. I haven't made a tutorial of that pansy painting for Patreon I'm sorry. You'll find all of the tutorials here on Patreon on the indexes....I keep them up to date. Thanks. ❤️

stephanie jans-Brantner

Louise... I dab the permanent rose on edges of petals and stroke down with my brush on "still wet" paper but leave those darn blotchy edges along edge of petal. I wonder if it's too much water. Still. Thats my tendency.

Louise De Masi

It might be your paper Stephanie. What paper are you using?

stephanie jans-Brantner

This is Arches Cold Press. 140 lb. I wonder also if I inadvertantly sop up my brush after dotting the edge. Then it picks up too much paint and leaves a blotch effect. I did post a pic on your FB page. A happy little mess it was... :-)

Louise De Masi

Ok, it shouldn't be your paper then. It could be a paint/water ratio or consistency problem. It could also be your brushes and/or your brush control. You want the paper to be wet but you also want the paint to be wet so that when it touches the wet paper it travels or bleeds over the paper (as soon as you touch the tip of the brush to the paper.) If it's not bleeding along the paper then either your paper is not wet enough or your paint mixture doesn't have enough water in it. At 11.20 on the video as soon as the permanent rose touches the wet paper you'll see how it bleeds.

Candace Cobb

Louise, I'm a complete newbie. I've been at it about a week. Just finished the pansies and I have to admit I ended up with way more pink than I wanted, which I think means my paper and maybe even the brush were too wet. Hopefully I get better at that. My biggest problem comes though when adding details. Those purple lines turned an ok painting into something childlike. I am not an artist - I cannot draw. So for me it's more about shapes and colors and the lines require a lot more attention to detail than I think I am capable of. Any tips??

Louise De Masi

Hi Candace, Sounds like you need to develop brush control which will only come about through lots of practice. Have patience with yourself- learning to paint (and paint well) is a commitment. Try to paint every day if you can. Get a watercolour journal and paint the same subject several times. If you are having difficulties painting fine lines- paint a heap of fine lines in your journal. Hold the brush up on the point with the handle perpendicular to the paper. Once you begin to understand the characteristics of watercolour you will have a lot of fun with it.

Jodie Ginn

Louise, how would you do this if you wanted to paint a pansy with two colors?

Louise De Masi

Hi Jodie, I'd use the same techniques but I'd change colours. I'd paint the main colour first, let it dry and then I'd re-wet it and paint the second colour around the edges.

Cheryle Virtue-Richards

Finished the pansy painting yesterday... I don't think there was enough water in my brush or maybe on the paper as the first layer didn't bleed far enough into the petals... When practising in my journal do I wet that page too to practise fine lines Louise?

Cheryle Virtue-Richards

I did the cacti today Oh My Goodness... The first time the paint was way too thick I am still learning about how much water to use on the paper, in the brush and how runny the paint mix needs to be! Eventually, after a few more tries it didn't turn out too bad. The texture on the pot is lovely... Those spikes need much more practise.... I said to my husband it looks like a primary school student's work he said what primary school did you go to? LOL I'll take that as a compliment! I have set myself a goal to practise everyday for a year, (retired so I can) and then I will compare myself with then and now... In spite of the challenge of this medium I still find it very relaxing! Thanks Louise 💗 oh yes, I stretched my paper on the gatorboard... Sooo much nicer to paint on!

Louise De Masi

Hi Cheryle, If you want the edges of your fine lines to be soft and fuzzy you'll need to work on wet paper in your journal. If you want hard edges on the lines - work on dry paper.

Louise De Masi

That's such a good plan Cheryle. Paint every day if you can and you'll be amazed at your progress. I'm glad you stretched your paper too. It makes it so much easier and more pleasant to paint on.

Mark Robinson

Thanks, Louise I’m new and love your teaching style and practicing the gum leaves. This is next. Would a cotton bud work like an extractor brush? Cheers😊

Mark Robinson

Oooops That should be eradicator

Louise De Masi

Thanks Mark and welcome. You can use a cotton bud on wet paint, but I have found that it's not that effective though. I use the eradicator brush on dry paper to remove the paint and create highlights.

Bev Witts

Hi Louise I am relatively new to watercolor painting, I have painted this pansy three times. And I will give it another go as I still would like it to bear some sort of resemblance to yours! I am using watercolour paper that is pretty good but still manage to over wet the paper, under wet it, let it dry too much before applying paint that isn’t wet enough or is too wet and the blend runs quite a bit into the petal. My pansy is definitely over worked! Since joining I have taken on board to paint something every day! My problem is that I am unsure about the wetness of my paint, I am using Fabre Castell hard paints.

Louise De Masi

Hi Bev, keep at it. It takes time to understand paint to water ratio. I prefer using tube paints rather than pan paints because I find it easier to get the pigment/water ratio right - when I used fresh pigment rather than pigment I have to reactivate with a wet brush. Painting something every day is an excellent way to improve.

Greet

This tutorial started with painting the grey at places where the pansy looks darker, a shadow. Is it also possible to paint them as the last step at the end of the painting?

Greet

Is it possible to paint the purple lines that come from the centre at the same time as the red lines that run from the edge to the centre? That saves you having to wet the leaf twice with the risk of disturbing the winsor lemon. Then paint that winsor lemon after the puple and red lines. I'm thinking about the order of the different parts of the painting. What is possible?

Louise De Masi

Yes definitely. You could paint the outer edges at the same time as the purple lines. Because this is a beginner tutorial I know that many beginners can't paint as fast as I can and their paper starts to dry which is why I like to break it down into steps for them. If you find your paper is still wet enough to work on- by all means carry on. There's no need to wait for it to dry completely and re- wet. Because the Winsor Lemon is pale it's unlikely that you'll disturb it in subseqent wettings. It's usually darker colours that will lift when you re wet. So leave your darkest colours for later in the painting if you can.

Greet

Thanks for your answer. I noticed, when painting the holly, that the green lifted a bit when I wet the paper. That didn't happen with the yellow of this pansy. So it matters which colour it is. That is good to know. I'm glad you break the tutorial down in small steps, because I am indeed not fast yet. I'm very happy with al the explanations you give. Now I understand why, I know better what I am doing. It is logical and not a trick. I am a math teacher and want my students to understand what they are doing. The same goes for myself.

Jane Ajemian

I just completed my first pansy. I have been struggling with this flower on my own for months. Now I finally know how to paint the flower correctly. Amazing how just one lesson has made a difference. Now to practice many more from my own garden. Thank You Louise

Helen Bramson

Such a beautiful painting Louise! I could see a faint yellow tinge to some of the petals so I added a very pale lemon yellow wash. Quite proud of myself! I’ve dated it so I can compare my progress when I return to have another go, maybe with some different colours, in the future. Loving your beginner tutorials, thank you so much.

Louise De Masi

Thank you Helen! That’s exactly the sort of observation that helps you grow as a painter. Dating your paintings is such a great idea too. It's always encouraging to look back and see how far you've come. I'm so glad you're enjoying the beginner tutorials! 💕

Lea Brownhall

Thank you Louise. I painted the pansy with you and learnt a lot. Your instructions were easy to follow. I am looking forward to painting those gorgeous (fluffy) geese next.

Louise De Masi

I'm so pleased! Thanks Lea. I hope you learn a lot from painting the geese as well.

Joyce C

Thanks for encouraging me with this beginner tutorial. I’ve been frustrated with myself trying to do intermediate, and although I learn, I don’t always feel successful and satisfied.

Nettie Moss

Thank you Louise! I am trying to do the tutorials in order of beginners then upwards, excellent practise

Elaine

Thank you Louise, it’s beautiful 💕

Dee Williamson

Excellent tutorial - thank you for the skill building exercises which, no doubt, will help me with your other projects, too!

Susan Rex

Thanks so much for this. You're the best.

Vee

Thank you Louise, this is excellent!!! I am also working from your beginner tutorials, and find videos and instructions like this right up my ally. I will do a number of these pansies until they look remotely like yours 😅 Many thanks for your very detailed explanations - apart from being an excellent teacher, you have tons of patience!!

Jacelyn Burns

Really enjoyed this one, taught me a lot!

Tracey Holden

I finished this one and am so happy. It is nowhere near good, but I learned a lot and feel like, with practice, I will get there. This lesson was wonderful to experiment with wet on wet and wet on damp etc. It really helped show me what I was doing wrong and gave me tools to fix mistakes as well as showed me what to pay attention to in the future. Thank you so much! Practice, practice, practice.

Brandyinthesky .

Thank you, Louise. I hadn't painted in a while, so this helped me get back into it! I love your style--both artistic and teaching styles!

Judy Breedlove

United States Thank you, Louise. This is a lovely tutorial.

Rosalie Coburn

This is great! I love your detailed explanations and I really appreciate that you’ve added more beginner flower tutorials. I’m learning a lot from this one!

Lou Shok

I love your tutorials. Before joining your Patreon I tried quite a few on youtube. No one does it as comprehensively and thoroughly and with such patience and with all material explained and detailed. Thank you Louise.

Louise De Masi

My pleasure Nilou and thank you very much. I hope you learn a lot. 💕

Deb Blomfield

Hi Louise, I have just joined your Patreon page and love you way you teach and explain things for beginners like me. I had a look at your materials list for this tutorial and unfortunately the brush you listed is outside my budget at present. Would the 5330 Da Vinci Cosmotop Size 8 be a suitable alternative? Selecting appropriate brushes seems to be a bit of a minefield. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you. Deb.

Louise De Masi

Hi Deb, welcome again. Use what you're comfortable with. I used a number 8 round brush so if your pansy is a similar size to mine use a similar sized brush. My Maestro brush has a really fine point which enables me to paint fine lines with it as well. Your brush might have a more chisel or rounded edge and if it does, you may need a smaller brush to paint the fine purple lines.

Jacque Habermel

Having problem with some of your tutorials. I get the video okay, but no sound. How can I fix this?

Louise De Masi

Hi Jacque. It's the Patreon app not the videos. Sign into Patreon through your internet browser - I find Google Chrome works best. The app is prone to misbehaving if you haven't got the latest version and haven't done all your updates etc. I always use my internet browser to sign into Patreon and never have a problem.

Renee Howard Cassese

This is so delicate and pretty. Fun to paint and you are an excellent teacher.

Cyndal Grant

Thank you so much! This tutorial was so much fun!

Louise De Masi

I'm glad you enjoyed it Cyndal. Your pansy was beautiful. 💕

Delores Pumphrey

This was the best tutorial I have ever seen. Louis, thank you for making a copy of your work up to a point, continue painting and then snapping, etc. I use to do that with colored pencils. I've been wanting to paint a pansy ever since I bought watercolors but just did not know where to start and or make a mess of things. One thing disappointing is that Jackson & Co cannot sell Series #22 to anyone in the USA. We are the only country in the world who is against sable brushes. I have a few bug not #8. I cannot believe it. I wonder if they sell mink coats for the elite.

Naginder Manhas

I painted this yesterday having zero experience in any kind of painting. I found the tutorial very helpful in that it taught me about the use of water and drying times. Learned so much already. I really want to get the technical aspects of watercolor down so that I can develop my own style for the future. I think I'll do each tutorial twice to correct my errors in the second painting to really learn the technique. I like the detailed teaching as this is how my mind works...sometimes I see too many details and you seem to simply it for me. Thanks for this course!

Dawn Abbott

My first tutorial...the step by step and explanation is great. I am at the point of progress photo two and finding water control sooo hard!

Louise De Masi

Thank you! It's not easy Dawn but with lots of practice it becomes intuitive. 💕

Erin

Hi,Louise. Why did you wet whole petal before purple color ?I mean the purple color is just a small part .Wetting that small part maybe enough . I am confused. Hope to get your answer.Thank you!

Louise De Masi

Hi Erin, Sometimes when you wet an area an ugly water line will form after it has dried. I try to avoid that when I can. By taking the water all the way to the edge of the petal I avoid the water line from forming. Also if you don't take the edge of the water far enough away from the area you are painting the watercolour is able to gently drift to the edge of the water creating hard edges where you don't want them.

Erin

Thank you !

Susan Larson

Hi Louise, I am so glad to have found you! Thanks for all the time and effort you put into these videos. I've been trying to paint flowers for a year with little success. Thanks to your thorough explanations of the whole process, I'm finally making some progress!

Louise De Masi

Hi Sue. My pleasure and thank you! That's wonderful. I'm so pleased. 💕

brian green

Well I’m new here this was my first attempt and it looked hideous, guess watercolour is not as easy as I thought 😃

Louise De Masi

Hi Brian, welcome! It's not an easy medium to use but don't give up. Once you learn a few techniques and you begin to understand it - it's a lot of fun and very satisfying to use. It takes a lot of practice.

brian green

Thank you Louise, I won’t give up I’ll do the opposite and become obsessed in trying to work it out. I can’t wait to get some success and hang some pictures around the house 😊

Małgorzata Siłka

When you are beginner you should start as beginner. After few months trying intermediate having no enough skills I have came to beginner and IT Was The Best decision I did. Now three different papers and IT is the work. Thanks Louise PS. Where I can add my Photo?

Louise De Masi

I'm so pleased Malgorzata. There's nowhere here on Patreon to upload photos unfortunately but if you use Facebook I have a private group there where all my students share their paintings. facebook.com/groups/118323255562001

Anne Watman

Wonderful tutorials, and I so much appreciate the reference images. Getting the right amount of water and wetness is so tricky, so it's especially nice to have something like this where it's not overly complicated, and you get to keep practicing the same thing on one subject.

MartyJ

Thanks Louise great tutorial, more please.

LisH

Many thanks, Louise, for a great tutorial. At last I have found a patient teacher. I like the way you repeat your detailed explanations, so that maybe at last I have understood a little of water control. I don't think I'll want to paint another pansy in the near future - I had four on the go at the same time, using two qualities of paper.

Louise De Masi

An excellent way to learn LisH! Thank you for letting me know.

Erin Carlson

Thank you for this tutorial! I love how patient you are and how you explain every step of the way. I really appreciated when you highlighted how "wet" the paper should look when painting on the violet streaks. I find the wetness of the paper the hardest part to judge and without images it would be hard to describe. I'm looking forward to working through more of your tutorials 🙂

Louise De Masi

Thanks very much Erin. I'm glad it was helpful to you.