Painting for me has become a bit of a ritual. I no longer rush the process. I realized a few years ago that the process of painting is really where I feel most grateful. Before we get to painting a peony, let me quickly summarize it for you!

Sitting down to paint can be categorized into three phases. 

Phase one - The Prep Phase

I often feel that the time spent preparing to paint is the best part of actually sitting down to paint.  As I prep my ideas, colors, and desk… it feels more like a ritual than a task.  Appreciating the tools that I have, the physical space that I create but also the mental space is something that I truly respect and enjoy. As I gather each tool, it’s almost like intention setting, as I get ready to use each and every one of them.

Phase two - The Painting Phase

Phase One is great until you have a stack of beautiful watercolor sheets filled with brush strokes and color… then the feeling of seeing what you’ve created feels pretty damn good! This is what happens in phase two. Often you can get lost in watching your motif come to life on paper, how the watercolor moves and puddles and how colors blend together. For this phase, getting lost in the painting is where the magic happens.

Phase three - Your Painted Pieces

After a long painting session, my desk is normally covered with pieces of watercolor that need to lay flat to dry. So I often wash my brushes, empty my water jars and stand back to look at everything I painted in that session. Guaranteed that I’ve painted a lot of leaves, stems and florals! The best part about phase three is the day after. The morning after a painting session is when you can observe how the paint dried, all the texture that watercolor offers and what makes your heart happy! Even if it’s just a color story that you painted, observing what you’ve created in your practice improves your craft and also your confidence. It’s where you build that important muscle memory, control over the brush and water and your enjoyment. Even a bad painting session does all of those things!

Now onto the watercolor peony tutorial for beginners!

These watercolor tutorials are meant to give you a taste of what is possible with the right tools and techniques! If your goal is to great painting rituals that make you feel excited to sit down to paint, then I invite you to come paint with me and experience first hand how gratifying the ritual of the process really is!

Modern Watercolors for beginners is open for a few more days then it’s gone until the fall!

A self paced, video based class that you have lifetime access to as I updated and add to the course!

Email me if you have an questions deciding if this class is right for you and enjoy the peony painting tutorial!

Happy painting!

Nicki

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