How to paint a realistic watercolor rose
If painting a realistic watercolor rose has been on your to-paint list for a while, but you haven’t attempted one yet as they feel a bit daunting to paint, you’re not alone.
With their masses of petals to navigate, roses are often seen as complex subjects. However, with the right guidance, painting a realistic rose can be more approachable than you might think.
In this mini class, I walk you through the process of painting a rose in watercolor. But this isn’t just any rose…
What’s special about this realistic watercolor rose?
This particular rose is still opening up from bud into bloom, so there aren’t as many petals to contend with. That simplified structure makes this a great first rose to try if you’ve never painted one before.
As well as the fact that there aren’t too many petals to manage, this rose has deep crevasses, which means there’s oppoerunity to build loads of depth and contrast to produce a 3D look.
Which version of the class is right for you?
Here I’ll be showing you a brief overview of the main steps I followed to paint this realistic watercolor rose.
If yoou’re at a stage where you’re not yet painting independently and would like extra help to achieve a result you’re happy with, you could consider trying the full length version of this class, which is nearly 2 hours in length. It comes with step-by-step video instruction and is either available on Skillshare or included with Nature Studio membership.
I’ve chosen to work on 9 x 12 inch (23 x 31 cm) paper for this demonstration, but you can easily adapt the size to suit your preferences. Working larger can make it easier to capture fine details, though it will extend the time needed to complete the painting.
Watch the Mini Class:
Ready to give it a go?
If you haven’t before tackled a complex subject like a realistic watercolor rose, make sure you’re patient with yourself. It’s great to stretch yourself with a challenge, but if things don’t go as planned on your first go, that’s okay. You can try again with step-by-step guidance, or practice on a simpler subject like this tulip.
And if painting this rose gives you the bug and you want to try some more roses, there’s a more complex one here, plus a mini class on how to create a tonal drawing of a rose using pencil.
I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Has this mini class inspired you to paint a realistic rose of your own? Had you avoided painting roses previously? Or when you’ve tried them, have you struggled? Hearing from you keeps my creativity flowing, so please leave a comment below.
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Hi Anna
Thank you – this is a very concise version of your Skillshare class which I have recently viewed. I just started watercolor painting, and am more used to using wet on wet technique. Your technique I believe is wet on dry. This is definitely probably easier than wet on wet – I cant wait to give it a try. Question I have though – with wet on wet, harsh lines are easier to ‘remove’ what about in your method – as the harsh lines from the previous layer have already dried up…how do I ‘mute’ the harsh lines?
By the way are you planning to have additional classes in Skillshare as well? Many thanks
Thanks for your questions Wah Ling!
With wet on dry, you don’t really get those hard lines because to the same extent you’re putting much less water on the paper at any one time, and the paper is dry, so the paint particles don’t really have anywhere to travel.
With my method, we work in layers, so any lines that do appear will be subtle, and we paint in the direction of form, so any unintended lines actually serve to build up texture and realism.
I recommend trying my free pear class for a comprehensive introduction to my technique.
I am indeed working on more classes for Skillshare, thanks for asking. I’ll announce all future releases via my email list, and if you follow me on Skillshare you’ll be notified there too 🙂
I would like to do watercolor. My family bought me lots of supplies and would love to do some fun but not abstract painting. I a cancer survivor and think it would be a good therapy for me
Hi Sonja, thanks for your comment. What a lovely gift from your family. Have you tried my free pear class? It’s beginner friendly and a great place to start.
I too am a cancer survivor and I really found painting helped me to recover. I hope it will for you too. You can read about my experience here: https://www.naturestudio.com/painted-back-health-big-c/
You went through the steps to quickly
Want to try again before moving on to the pear
Thanks
Looking forward to hearing from u
Thanks for your feedback Helen. It’s a long class to condense into an overview. You may get on better with the step-by-step version.
The pear class has been designed as a thorough introduction to my method, so I do suggest painting that first. That class is much longer and goes step-by-step.
Hope you enjoy it!
Teşekkür ederim, bu güzel gülü boyamayı deneyeceğim.🇹🇷💐💐
Enjoy!
Ho Anna
Love the way you explain the method of painting the rose and tulips.Both are natural and beautiful .
Do u draw the outline or do you have any other technique to draw them.
Superb.
Hello Annie. For realistic painting, the most important thing about a drawing is that it’s accurate, so for this I recommend tracing.
I know some artists can feel a little unsure about tracing, but it really is the best way to get accurate results, which is why the Great Masters used drawing aids to produce their drawings too. And if it was good enough for them, it’s good enough for me!
My full length classes come with traceable outline drawings and reference photos. If you look at the free pear class, you’ll find an example.
For working on an independent piece, I suggest painting from a reference photo and tracing from the photo to create the outline.
I hope this helps.
Lovely paintings