Violets Watercolor Painting

There are two different types of violets in this Violet watercolor painting. You can tell the difference between the two species by their leaves. The Bird-Foot Violet has sharply pointed leaves and the Early Blue Violet leaves are varied in shapes with rounded unbroken edges. The flowers on both plants share the characteristic blue tinted petals with an orange center. Violets commonly grow in dry ground that either boarders swamps or thin woodlands.

The purpose of a flower guide painting is to help gardeners and flower enthusiasts identify different specie of flowers. In this botanical floral composition the focus is most of all on the flower’s individual aspects. The flower’s details need to be prominent in a flower guide painting.

Painting Tutorial

The sketch depicts the details and the different characteristics in the leaves with the flowers arching towards the center. This draws the eye inwards creating a focal point.

I layered shades of paint on a wet surface when painting the violets. I then painted with a dry brush to add detail and give depth to the flowers. A light neutral wash of brown and blue paint was carefully swept in the background with a large brush keeping the focus on the flowers.