Watercolor Leaf {A how to craft project}

September 25, 2015September 8, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

This is one of my favorite Fall projects! Give it a try and share your results, either in the comments below or on Instagram – tag me: @eileenmckenna. For convenient printable instructions – visit my Etsy shop.

Supplies:

Heavyweight watercolor paper – I used Fluid Easy Block
Watercolor paints (3 colors – light, medium, dark. I used yellow, orange (or red), and brown.)
Water
Paintbrushes (1 thick, 1 thin)
Scissors
Pencil and eraser
Leaf or photo of a leaf (for shape and inspiration)

Steps:

Trace or draw leaf onto the watercolor paper
Cut out the leaf shape
Erase remaining pencil lines.
Wet one side of the leaf shape using a paintbrush and water.
Using a brush wet with yellow paint, paint the entire leaf yellow (or a light color of your choice).
With a brush, wet with orange paint, paint the edges of your leaf. The orange will bleed into the yellow – this is a good thing!
Use a thinner (and not as wet) brush and paint thin brown lines onto the leaf. (Copy the veins from your real leaf or photo.) If your leaf is still wet, the lines will bleed which creates a cool texture to the leaf.
Allow the leaf to dry, then add more thin brown lines. (The dryer the paper, the less the paint will bleed.)

When I first showed my kids my painted leaf, they thought it was a real leaf! Have fun! Can’t wait to see what you make. 🙂 Ready to get started in watercolor? Check out my new guide “Beginner Watercolor Exploration”

Learn the fundamentals.
Practice with exercises & projects.
Discover a love of watercolor!

Start your watercolor journey today! Learn more here.

Beginner Watercolor Exploration Guide pdf download | how to guide beginner watercolor

Would you like to: Be creative on a regular basis and experience the joy that creativity brings? Explore mediums and subjects, in search of your thing? Learn about my new book Creative Exploration: A Six Week Process for Introducing Regular Creativity into your Life by clicking here.

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