Watercolor Painting of Dazzling Daffodil

Begin by dipping your large, round brush into the water and then into the yellow paint. Make sure you have a delicate shade of yellow, more on the transparent side. Now, begin painting a squiggly yellow circle and fill it with this transparent yellow color.

While the circle is still wet, dip your smaller brush into the water and then into your orange paint. Gently add tiny dots of orange paint inside the inner border of the circle.
 
Now, dip your larger brush into the water and the yellow paint. You want to make sure you don’t have too much pigment on the brush to keep the petals light and delicate in color. You can begin by applying light pressure on the tip of your brush approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the center of the flower and then slowly adding pressure to create the larger part of the petal.

Continue adding yellow petals around the center circle by painting each petal one by one using the same technique described in the previous step. Aim for five petals total to complete the daffodil.

Finish your petals, and now switch to your smaller brush, dipping it into the water and then into the orange paint. Apply a thin orange line to the center of the last petal you just painted while it is still damp. If the remaining petals have dried, add a smooth layer of water to each of them with the larger brush, working one by one, and continue adding thin orange center lines to each one. With your larger brush, dip it into the water and add a thin layer of water over the center of the flower. Now switch to the smaller brush and dip it into the water and the brown paint. Add three tiny concentrated brown dots to the center of the flower and let them bleed.
 
It’s time to add the stem and leaves. Switch to the larger brush and dip it into the water, and then into the green paint. Now add your stem, starting at the base of the flower and bringing the line down. Add a second line to thicken the stem, if needed. Don’t worry about the amount of pigment on the brush—have fun with the process and the way the colors shift while wet and dry. Now add some leaves! Load the larger brush with water and green pigment and start at the base of the stem on the left side, pulling a thick stroke upward. Lift the brush to end the stroke. Add a second stroke if needed to create a thicker leaf. Do the same thing on the right side. Let the leaves fully dry.

Continue adding these last details. Now dip your smaller brush into the water and then into the yellow paint. Add delicate, concentrated yellow outlines to part of each petal as shown in the image. Do the same thing with the center lines on each petal. Go over them with a thin layer of yellow to enhance the lines.
 
Add the last leaf now with the larger brush. Dip it into the water and the green paint. Now you will be painting the last leaf on top of the one you painted in the previous step. Make it a little bit more concentrated, and don’t be afraid to paint boldly over the background leaf. You’re done!

Credit Line:
 
Reprinted with permission from Easy Watercolor Flowers by Bianca Rosen. Page Street Publishing Co. 2024. Artwork credit: Bianca Rosen.