Hello, fellow artists and flower enthusiasts! 🌸🎨

Pansy orchids are some of the most beautiful and intricate flowers to capture in watercolor. Today, I’m excited to walk you through the basics of painting these delicate blooms. By the end of this tutorial, you'll have a lovely pansy orchid painting of your own!

If you enjoy this tutorial and want to explore more advanced techniques, I’d love for you to join my full lesson, "Pansy Orchids in Watercolor" on my Patreon channel, where we go into much greater detail.

Step 1: Gathering Your Materials

Before we begin, make sure you have the following materials:

Watercolor paper: I recommend hot-pressed paper as smooth paper is best for botanical painting
Watercolor paints:Bright Violet (Holbein); Quinacridone Magenta (Winsor & Newton);
For the Darkening Mix: Winsor Blue (Red Shade) (Winsor & Newton); Quinacridone Magenta (Winsor & Newton); Lemon Yellow (Daniel Smith or Winsor & Newton)
For the Red Centre: Permanent Carmine (Winsor & Newton); Perilene Marron (Winsor & Newton); Winsor Blue (Red Shade) (Winsor & Newton)
Brushes: I used Winsor and Newton series 7 N. 1 and 00
Pencil and eraser: For sketching your orchid.
Water and a mixing palette
Tracing Paper
Lightbox (optional)
Agate Burnisher (optional, you can use the back of a spoon or a lightbox)

Step 2: Sketching the Pansy Orchid

Start with a light pencil sketch of the orchid. Focus on capturing the basic shapes first—the oval of the main petals, the curves of the smaller ones, and the central "face" of the flower. Keep your lines light, as you’ll want them to fade beneath the watercolor layers.

Tip: Observe your flower closely, noting where the petals overlap and the angles of the flower. In the full lesson, I provide reference photos in color and black and white and a line drawing for tracing if you don’t feel like drawing :-)

I also give you a cool tip to transfer your tracing on watercolor paper using a burnisher.

Step 3: Applying the First Wash

Begin by laying down a light wash of color on the petals. Use a very diluted mix of Bright Violet and Winsor Blue (Red Shade). Let this layer dry completely.

Tip: It’s essential to start with light colors and build up intensity gradually. Don’t worry about hard edges at the moment as we’re going to add more layers on top (as long as the wash is kept light)

Step 4: Building Depth with Layered Colors

Once the first wash is dry, start adding the second layer to build depth. Use a slightly darker mix of the same color (less diluted) and apply it to the areas where the petals overlap or where there are natural shadows. Repeat this process until you’re satisfied with the depth and richness of the colors.

Tip: Pay special attention to the edges of the petals, where colors often change subtly. In the full lesson, I demonstrate how to blend these transitions smoothly for a realistic effect.

Step 5: The Details

Use a small brush and a more concentrated paint mix to add the intricate details. At this point I use the brush almost as I would use a pencil, applying small brush strokes and building the color slowly. This way you have more control over the paint.

Tip: This step requires patience and a steady hand. If you’re unsure about how to approach these details, the full lesson includes close-up demonstrations and tips on how to achieve them with confidence.

Step 6: Finishing Touches

Finally, refine your painting by adding any final touches. This might include deepening the shadows or, as I did, laying down a final wash to bring everything together.

Tip: Step back and view your painting from a distance. Sometimes, a fresh perspective helps you spot areas that need a bit more attention.

Ready for More? Watch My Full Lesson!

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to learn more, I invite you to join my full lesson, "Pansy Orchids in Watercolor." In this almost 2h lesson, we’ll dive deeper into each of these steps, explore advanced techniques, and work on creating stunning compositions.

Plus, as a bonus, if you sign up through my Patreon, you’ll gain access to exclusive content, personalized feedback, and more!

AND the first 30 subscribers will get a unique bonus:

Downloadable digital prints of my Garden Flowers collection to print and keep (personal use only). The collection includes 5 paintings in ink and watercolor.

I can’t wait to see your beautiful pansy orchid paintings. Happy painting! 🌺🎨