One-minute Watercolour Flowers with Willow Wolfe

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One-minute Watercolour Flowers with Willow Wolfe Callia Artist Brushes

Get ready to bloom with these simple stroke watercolour flowers!

Follow this guide from Willow Wolfe to learn how to create watercolour flowers using simple brush strokes. These strokes are great foundational techniques that can be used throughout your painting practice and help develop great brush control.

PLUS, watch Willow's video below alongside this article to get the most out of the tutorial!

Use what you learn in this tutorial to create customized cards, home decor, gift tags and more.

Supplies for this Tutorial One Minute Watercolour Flowers Video Tutorial Brush Stroke Technique Guide Comma Strokes Reverse Comma Strokes Painting Watercolour Flowers with Comma Strokes Painting Watercolour Flowers with Reverse Comma Strokes

Supplies for this Tutorial

Callia Artist Brushes Watercolor Flowers Brush Set

Set includes Round brushes sizes 2, 6, 12, and a size 6 Filbert

Van Gogh Watercolour Paint

Yellow Light
Permanent Red Light
Quinacridone Rose
Ultramarine Blue
Sap Green

Paper

Watercolour Paper or Watercolour Postcards

Optional Supplies

Grey Transfer Paper
White Gouache
Pencil

Need a .PDF version of this article? Click here to download.

One Minute Watercolour Flowers Video Tutorial

Brush Stroke Technique Guide

Basic strokes are the building blocks for painting watercolour flowers. They build hand-eye coordination, and with practice, they are quick, easy, and create beautiful watercolour flowers.

Willow painting comma strokes – from the video linked above.

Comma Strokes

Begin by practicing comma strokes. There is a left, right and a straight comma to practice. While practicing comma strokes, keep in mind: touch, press, lift, drag.

Try them with both round and filbert brushes.

Outlines of basic comma brush strokes. In order, left, middle, right, combined.

Reverse Comma Strokes

Next, try backwards commas. These commas are going the opposite direction, starting at the more tapered end first. While these may seem nearly identical to the standard comma, there will be differences in the edges and effects.

Outlines of reverse comma brush strokes. Left and right, and combined commas.

Painting Watercolour Flowers with Comma Strokes

Below is Willow's line drawing if you'd like to trace one out first as a guide for your watercolour flowers. Willow uses transfer paper to trace out designs.

You could also draw circles on your page with a center dot to get used to shape, form and direction.

Willow's flower line art.

Once you have practiced your strokes, you’ll want to try free-handing your watercolour flowers until it's comfortable for you. Try them in every colour!

To paint these comma stroke watercolour flowers, ensure your brush moves toward the center point of the blossom. This will ensure accurate growth direction.

Mix Permanent Red Light + Yellow Light + Quinacridone Rose to make an orange-y/pink mix. Use lots of water and load your round or filbert brush.

Pull strokes toward the center of the flower, while wet add dots of Quin. Rose near the base of the petal to darken. Continue until all petals are painted.

Tap a mixture of Quin. Rose + Ultra. Blue into the center. Let dry and tap White Gouache into the center.

Paint little comma stroke leaves with a mix of Sap Green + a touch of Ultramarine Blue using the #2 Callia round brush.

Willow's example of watercolour flowers painted using comma strokes.

Painting Watercolour Flowers with Reverse Comma Strokes

To paint a reverse comma watercolour flower, ensure your brush begins near the center of the flower and finishes at the outer edge of the flower. These flowers have an outer edge with a jagged finish that’s really wild and beautiful.

Mix Permanent Red Light, Yellow Light, and Quinacridone Rose to make an orange-y/pink mix. Use lots of water and load your round brush.

Pull strokes away from the center of the flower, lifting abruptly. While wet, add dots of Quin. Rose near the base of the petal to darken. Continue until all petals are painted.

Tap a mixture of Quin. Rose + Ultra. Blue into the center. Let dry and tap White Gouache into the center.

Paint little comma stroke leaves with a mix of Sap Green + a touch of Ultramarine Blue using the #2 Callia round brush.

Willow's example of watercolour flowers painted using reverse comma strokes.

Willow Wolfe

Willow Wolfe is widely recognized for challenging and modernizing today’s world of art supplies and education. Willow is an award winning art teacher, the author of a library of internationally available books and the designer of best-selling brush lines for over twenty years.

Shop Willow Wolfe Brushes