Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

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botanical painting

Lavender

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Lavender watercolour painting a Purple Haze

Lavender painting with white frame

 

The Lavender with its sweet scent and haze of purple has encompassed the garden this year. This beautiful plant thrives in most areas of our Shropshire garden, regardless of sun or shade. I know when the flowers are emerging from their dark purple pods, because the lavender suddenly becomes very popular with butterflies and bees.

Plein Air painting and best laid plans

Initially I wanted to paint the lavender outdoors and enjoy being in the garden. I am always reluctant to remove any flowers from the garden, because they won’t last as long, once picked. I have missed going on long walks and painting in the hills and woodlands. This has turned out to be a very strange year, but like everyone else we are managing as best as we can. Hence plein air painting in our Shropshire garden.

Well I mentioned best laid plans and I had my chair, board, paper and watercolour paints ready to begin, when rain descended. So I abandoned the idea and decided to paint indoors. The lavender won’t last forever and I had to make the most of the opportunity.

Work in progress lavender watercolour

 

Layout dilemmas and where to begin painting

So after using a magnifying glass to understand the structure of Lavender flowers, I was able to make a drawing that made sense. Flowers have lots of detail and it’s important to not get lost in trying to paint all the detail. Being a watercolour artist means, I can end up with a watery purple mess.

Initially I laid out three Lavender stems, but they just looked a little lost on the paper, so I added two more Lavender stems. Also I decided to paint the tiny little flowers, usually just two, at the bottom of the stem. I felt this gave an overall pleasant curve shape to the Lavender painting as a whole.

Firstly I began painting the bright purple flowers, sprouting from the dark purple pods. I thought it would be easier to make sense of the Lavender if I painted the lighter flowers first. Otherwise everything may have ended up looking like lots of pods. The flowers are tiny and I added layers of pale purple watercolour to create depth to the petals. I kept the washes simple, just a slight dab of darker paint to hint at the shape and form of the Lavender flowers.

work in progress lavender watercolour

 

Building watercolour layers

Once I had added lots of light purple watercolour layers to the lavender flowerhead, I began painting the dark purple pods. I used a darker purple mix of paint. Adding layers of paint, creates a depth of colour, which you don’t normally see with watercolours. You can learn more about my pure watercolour technique here.

There are many individual lavender pods to paint. I used a small sable brush to leave lighter areas on each pod to create shape and form.

watercolour artist painting with watercolours

work in progress watercolour painting of lavender flowers

 

Lavender greens, time and patience

There are many varieties of Lavender and the variety in my garden is called Lavandula Angustifolia Hidcote. This Lavender has silvery-grey green stems and leaves, that can look more yellow in tone in the sunlight. Therefore I added more blue to my green watercolour mix, to achieve a more grey green tone. With hints of a warmer yellow green on the leaves. Also there are little dried out brown leaves to the underside of the pod clusters, that have been delicately painted. See my blog about mixing watercolours.

I had to keep a steady-hand while painting the lines of green watercolour for the stems. There are times when I unconsciously hold my breath as I paint. It requires a lot of concentration to paint smooth even lines of watercolour. The last thing I want to do is ruin this lovely painting, right at the end.

It takes time and patience to create this Lavender watercolour painting. By firstly observing the lavender and its structure, to composing the painting, to painting layers and layers of watercolour, to using a steady-hand and high levels of concentration, to create a highly detailed delicate watercolour painting.

Lavender Watercolour painting completed

The original Lavender watercolour painting is available and there are lovely Giclée prints of the Lavender flowers too, they make wonderful gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

White Lilies

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watercolour painting of white lily flowers
Materials for my white lilies painting

Painted on Saunders Waterford hot press 300gsm traditional white paper.

Winsor and Newton Kolinsky series 7 sable brushes nos. 0, 00 and 000.

Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolours.

White lilies

Most people are struggling to work out what day it is at the moment, however, Easter is now only just around the corner. Inspired by this time of year, I have decided to paint some wonderful white lilies. These flowers are an important symbol in Christianity and are said to reflect purity. The white lily is also known as the Madonna lily and these are truly gorgeous flowers. Although, it’s often the case that the flower heads get squashed together as buds open. To avoid this, I produced my latest watercolour painting from various photographs that I have taken of groups of white lilies.

The greens

To begin with, I mixed the various hues of green that I was going to need. This started with a pale green wash which was created by gently mixing my blue and yellow paint together.

From here, I mixed together a stronger and warmer hue of green. This was created for the anther stems of the white lilies. My final green hue was a much stronger colour but with an additional blue tone to add into the long, strong, stems of the flower.

No white paint

As I do not use white watercolour paint or masking fluid in my pure watercolour technique, I had to create the petals of the flowers through the use of shadows. This involved delicately and methodically painting in shadows around each of the petals. To create these shadows, as I do not use a pre-mixed black paint, I created a pale blue-black tone from my three watercolours (red, blue and yellow).

Finally, I mixed two palettes for the yellow/orange anthers of the white lilies.

White lilies watercolour painting - Helen Parry Art

The first strokes

To begin the botanical painting, I started with a pale green outline to the buds and stems of the white lilies and I used the pale blue/black mix to outline the petals. By doing this, it helps me identify the different shapes in the painting.

From these initial strokes, I moved on to paint the yellow tones of the anther tips within each of the flowers. To produce the strong and powerful yellow, I added about four layers of watercolour wash here.

Next, I used the pale green mix to paint the first layers on the anther stems. Again, this involved building up the layers of colour. As a layer of watercolour wash dried, I added another to create a darker green hue. Each stroke of paint was carefully added alongside the anther stem to create shadow and definition.

Once I had built up some shape and definition to the anthers, I went back to the yellow/orange watercolour wash. I applied this to the painting to add some further shape and definition to the anthers. To create the delicate fallen pollen on the petals, I added a little yellow paint to my wash to create a lighter tone and gently added the detail in.

White lilies work in progress - Helen Parry Art

Building layers and shadows

Once these layers had dried, I began carefully painting shadows onto the stamens, anthers and pollen using the light blue/black mix.

To create the subtle layers in the strong and stunning petals of the white lilies, I added a soft, pale-yellow wash. I only added this wash in specific areas of the petals to add some warmth to the painting without detracting from the vibrant white flower.

Building further shadows within the painting involved adding the blue/black watercolour mix. This was steadily added to the central ridges of the petals and slowly worked outwards.

To create the visible and defined shadows, I painted several layers of black watercolour mix onto the petals. Each time making the centre of the flowers darker. There are also subtle green washes in the centre of the flowers too, which help form a natural and delicate look. As I work, I constantly step back to assess the dark shadows as I paint. It is important to find the balance between shape and form of the petals and the light and dark shadows.

 

White flowers in watercolour - Helen Parry Art

This white lilies painting took many sittings to create. Patience was vital in that I had to wait for each layer to dry, before I could add another watercolour layer. It’s also important to take time over adding in each layer, if the previous is not thoroughly dry, adding more can lift paint and make a mess which is often not salvageable.

White lilies painted in watercolour - Helen Parry Art

The black watercolour paint

Another issue that needs to be avoided is the separation in my black wash. The different mixes try to split in the painting palette, on my brush and the watercolour paper too! It is important to stay vigilant and give the mix a quick stir together regularly. This occurs as I create my own black wash in my pure watercolour technique, if using pre-bought mixes, this shouldn’t occur though.

White flowers painted in watercolour - Helen Parry Art

Finishing off

When finishing my white lilies watercolour painting, I add in the three buds. These are created using the green mixes, starting with the lightest, through to the darkest. One of the buds is still tightly closed, one is just about to peek out and the third is beginning to flaunt its stunning white petals.

Once the green layers are built up on the stems, I finally paint the shadows of the buds.

It’s at this point that I step away from my botanical watercolour painting. I will leave it overnight, then take another look. Finally I will add any details I feel are missed or need more layers of paint.

Crocuses Watercolour Painting – The ideal Mother’s Day Gift

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Crocus Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Artist

Beautiful crocuses are growing in my garden right now. They have a delicate purple colouring and look gorgeous in the sunshine. It’s lovely to see the crocuses sprouting from the soil and opening in the sun a true sign that spring is on its way!

These pretty and delicate little flowers can often be seen blooming during late winter and early spring. Often associated with a sign of cheerfulness or glee, the crocus flower can add some wonderful colour to your garden at this time of year and can often be spotted as delightful purple blankets.

 

Materials

I used Saunders Waterford hot press 300gsm watercolour paper and Kolinsky sable watercolour brushes, sizes from 000 to 2.

Crocus Watercolour Painting in Progress - Helen Parry Artist

Initial Study

Before I started my painting, I took a quiet moment to study the crocus flowers in the garden and created sketches of three of the flowers. I wanted to show their shape and how their petals open out to the sun. These initial sketches were then used as a guide for the layout of my crocus watercolour painting.

Watercolour Mix in Crocus Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Artist

Watercolour Mixes

To begin with, I created palette mixes of a pale purple tone and a pale pink tone. Then with the size 2 brush I applied the pale pink watercolour mix to the petals of the top crocus flower. I re-applied the pink tone a few times, just to create a subtle underlying tone of pink, which I had seen in the flowers I had observed in the garden.

Find out more about how I create different watercolour mixes.

Next, I began painting a pale tone of purple to the outer edges of the petals of the top flower. The top flower was in more sunlight, so overall it would have less colour and fewer shadows than the other two flowers. While I waited for the purple layers of the first flower to dry, I began painting the middle crocus flower. Again, I applied pale pink undertones, then purple layers of watercolour on the petals.

Purple Crocus in Watercolour - Helen Parry Artist

Adding Layers

I applied more layers to the first flower as I waited for the initial layers to dry on the middle crocus flower. I also started to paint the first yellow washes to the stamen and anthers.

Crocus Painting Layers - Helen Parry Art

By consistently applying layers of watercolour to the crocus petals, I was able to slowly build up a wonderful depth of colour.

Finishing touches to Crocus Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Art

This allowed the petals to gain a smooth transition of colour. From here I also painted the first layers of green watercolour paint to the crocus leaves. I left a line in each leaf unpainted, as crocus leaves have a white line in them. This is where the cells in the leaves contain less chlorophyll than those along the edges.

Delicately, I painted a darker orange yellow tone to the stamens and anthers of each flower. These are a stunning and strong orange tone of colour.

While the main petals dried, I used a size 00 brush to paint stronger tones of colour around the tips of the petals.

The Shadows and Leaves

Working methodically, I kept moving from one flower to another as they dried. Finally, I added the shadows to the petals. The shadows were a darker tone of purple. I tried to balance the darkness of the shadows against the sunlit areas of the petals.

Painting the leaves of a Crocus - Helen Parry Art

To finish the watercolour painting I added more layers of watercolour mix to the green leaves again for a stronger green tone.

The Snowdrop

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Snowdrop Watercolour Painting in an Oak Frame - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Snowdrops (Galanthus) are small delicate, white flowers that are best well known for the representation of the winter turning into spring. These hardy little plants are often a wonderful sight at this time of year with blankets of them often covering the floor of woodlands across the UK. You may even be lucky enough to spot some in your own garden too. I adore these fragile flowers and have been feeling inspired to use them as my latest watercolour painting subject. Fortunately,  I am very lucky to have pockets of snowdrops dotted around my garden, close by to my studio. I didn’t have to travel far to get started! Find out how I painted my watercolour snowdrops in more detail.

My Materials

Saunders Waterford Hot Press 140lbs watercolour paper.

Winsor and Newton Kolinsky Series 7 sable watercolour brushes in sizes 0,00 and 000.

The Initial Sketch

To begin with, I headed down to the garden to create an initial pencil sketch. Snowdrops can have many linear leaves, so taking this into consideration, I simplified the layout of the flower in my outline sketch.

Watercolour Mixes

My watercolour snowdrop painting has been created using just three colours: red, yellow and blue and mixed into different tones. These three colours were mixed to create three watercolour mixes; yellow/green mix, a darker green mix and finally a blue/black wash.

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting Work in Progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The Initial Outline

To paint the strong and linear leaves of the flower, I created an outline of the stems and each individual leaf. The outline was made using the Winsor and Newton paintbrush, size 0. An initial outline then assists in developing and building the watercolour pigment to create the finished painting.

Continuing on from here, I use the yellow/green mix for the tops of the flowers (the ovary). I also use the pigment mix to add in the delicate stems, as they have a slightly yellow tone, particularly when compared to the dark green of the leaves.

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting in progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The Leaves

Each individual leaf of the snowdrop has a prominent vein running through the middle. I carefully highlighted each vein in each leaf by painting around this area with the dark green watercolour mix. Allowing the vein to show as a highlight.

Snowdrop Watercolour Painting in progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The White Flower

To paint the most spectacular part of these flowers, I do not use any white watercolour paint. Using my blue/black mix of watercolour paint, I cautiously paint the outlines of the snowdrop petals. Following on from the outline, I added in the shadows to each petal. This continued with building up layers of paint. Next, I continued with the tiny, upside down hearts which form the inner petals. These were created with the Winsor and Newton size 00 brush. Dipping back into my blue/black pigment, I started to really develop the definition within the shape of the stems and the darker shadows contained within the petals.

To Finish

Finally, I picked up my size 000 watercolour brush to add in some of the final but crucial details including more detailing around the veins of the leaves. I also added in the detailing contained within the upper stem (the spathe).

Watercolour Painting of snowdrops - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

If you would like to purchase a giclée print of my snowdrop watercolour painting, please visit my online shop.

The Red Rose

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Red Rose Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Unmistakably associated with love and Valentine’s Day, the red rose is a true symbol of romance. Inspired by Valentine’s Day being just around the corner, I decided to paint this delicate red flower. I was eager to paint a bright red rose with many layers of petals; however, I do wish I had gone even bigger! Painting larger botanical pieces can sometimes make it much easier to create definition within each petal.

Find out how I created this lovely red rose using my pure watercolour technique.

Materials

For this botanical watercolour, I decided to use the Sanders Waterford 140lbs hot press paper. Hot pressed paper has the most delightfully smooth surface which is ideal for botanical works and delicate brushstrokes. Fortunately, due to the heavy weight of the paper it doesn’t require stretching too so I could start my painting straight away! For my brushes, I selected the Winsor and Newton Kolinsky series 7 sable watercolour brushes in sizes 1 and 00 which are often one of my main brushes of choice. All of my watercolour paints are Winsor and Newton professional artist paints.

Red Rose Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

To begin

My first step was to create a simple pencil outline of the red rose. I had decided to work out all of the intricate petals and their detailing as I painted. For my watercolour paints, I mixed a yellow and orange pigment alongside a pale pink and then a red with a subtle orange hue.

The painting started at the centre of the rose, this included the yellow and orange anthers of the stamen. Continuing on, I split the head of the rose into quarters. I began with the top left section heading around in an anti-clockwise direction. I felt this process aided me in understanding the incredible structure of the rose petals and ensured I painted methodically with one section at a time.

The pink watercolour mix was then slowly added and developed around each of the rose petals, one by one. I was repeatedly adding more layers of paint as each previous layer had dried, this helps develop the stunning bright pink tone. Following on, I added the red watercolour mix into the main areas of each of the petals. Again, adding additional layers of paint as the previous dried underneath.

Red Rose Work in Progress Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

 The white sections

As I worked, I left areas of white around each petal of the red rose. This helped me identify the structure and specific shape. I then added a gentle wash of pink tone to the white areas of the painting. Any true white within the painting is the tone of the hot-pressed paper surface.

 

Red Rose in Watercolour - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Red Rose Watercolour Painting in Progress - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

The black sections of the red rose

Next I created a black mix of watercolour. No black pigment is used in my paintings, just a mix of the primary colours which creates my pure watercolour technique. I applied this black mix to the petals very delicately to represent the shadows on each of the petals. Again, the process involved building layers of wash up as the previous layers dried. I then touched up some of the red areas on the petals.

Red Rose Watercolour Painting - Helen Parry Watercolour Artist

Finishing off the red rose

To finish my red rose watercolour painting, I created a light green watercolour mix for the stem and leaves of the flower. I painted the veins of the leaves first, then using a simple blue wash, I created highlight areas on the leaves. Following on from this, I mixed my green watercolour to a darker share and painted between the veins. To finish off, for definition, I brushed some of the red watercolour mix to the edges of the leaves.

Poinsettia Watercolour Painting – The Christmas Flower

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Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are also known as Christmas Flower. These wonderful, vibrant red plants truly represent the wonderful colours of the season and there is no doubt that you will see more and more of these lining our shops shelves over the next few weeks. With Christmas just around the corner, this fabulous poinsettia plant has inspired me to produce a delightful Christmas watercolour painting.

The Poinsettia Plant

These wonderful plants are indigenous to Mexico and the plant’s original association with Christmas is said to be as far back at the 16thCentury. The story is told of a young girl called Pepita whom was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. An angel inspired this young girl to collect weeds from the roadside and present them to the church altar. From this, the stunning crimson red blossoms appeared from the weeds and there came the poinsettia plants. It is also suggested that the star shapes created by the leaves symbolise the Star of Bethlehem. Furthermore, the stunning red colour of the leaves are said to symbolise the blood sacrifice through the crucification of Jesus.

Poinsettia Watercolour Painting

Inspired by this stunning Christmas plant, I have recently painted a poinsettia. Here I will take you through the process of producing the incredible red hues and intricate detail contained within this poinsettia watercolour painting.

Poinsettia Watercolour painting in progress

I always commence my watercolour paintings with an initial sketch including some layout ideas. This initial sketch is always done in pencil and I ensure to make a note of all white and highlighted areas as these need to remain unpainted. This is due to my painting technique; pure watercolour.

Outline sketch of painting

From here I start to build up some colour in my poinsettia watercolour painting. All of my watercolour paintings are created using just three colours; red, yellow and blue. I mix these primary colours to create all the different subtle shades and hues contained within each painting. The watercolour paper that I have chosen to work with here is the St. Cuthberts Mill, Saunders Waterford 300gsm/140lb and my watercolours are Winsor & Newton Professional Artist paints.

Poinsettia Watercolour Painting in progress

Next, I begin to build up the undertones of my painting. This includes building layers of watercolour washes. Building up these tones from light to dark is important to ensure that the consistency and depth of the watercolour pigment is perfect.

Red watercolour pigment in leaves of plant

One of my favourite moments of painting is when you can slowly see the incredible layers build and develop to produce gorgeous new and beautiful hues. As you can see, I have used very fine brushes in this poinsettia watercolour painting, this allows me to ensure I can create the detail in the crimson leaves, including the delicate veins that run through them. My brushes of choice here are the Winsor & Newton Kolinsky sable brushes.

Green watercolour pigment being added to a poinsettia painting

Finally, I have added in the green pigments to build in the detail and colour of the green leaves at the base of the plant. This green pigment has been built up with just blue and yellow watercolours and the highlighted details you can see are created by leaving parts of the heavy weight watercolour paper unpainted.

Watercolour painting of a poinsettia plant

Here is my final poinsettia watercolour painting, and I hope you like it. This original painting is now available to purchase in my online shop in either an oak or an off-white frame. Alternatively, you can also purchase as a giclée print.

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