Holly

INSTRUCTIONS

1. On your watercolor paper, trace or lightly sketch the holly in pencil.

2. As you’ll be working wet-in-wet with a size 8 round brush, it may be helpful to work one leaf at a time. For some leaves, paint Winsor Green and, while that is wet, drop in Cadmium Orange. For other leaves, paint Winsor Green and dab in Green Gold. Mix on your palette Ultramarine Blue (50%) and Winsor Green (50%), then paint the evergreen with a straight line and have “V” strokes coming out. There’s no need to wait for the leaves to dry; it’s okay if the colors bleed together.

3. Continue with the wet-in-wet technique for the holly berries. Paint the holly berries Winsor Red, then drop in Cadmium Orange while the paint is wet.

4. Use Alizarin Crimson to paint a shadow on the side of the berries. Make a mixture of Winsor Green (60%) and Alizarin Crimson (40%) on your palette and use it for the branches of the holly. Then use this color to put a dot on some of the berries, but make sure the berries are dry before you add that dot. Also add some little dotting around the branches and use the same color to put little veins on the leaves. Lastly, use the color to go over the top of the evergreen to add some dark shadowing everywhere.

5. Darken the holly leaves with a Winsor Green (70%) and Alizarin Crimson (30%) mixture. This should be a lighter mixture than the one used in Step 4. To lighten the value, make sure to add more water on your palette.

COLORS

1. Winsor Green

2. Cadmium Orange

3. Green Gold

4. Ultramarine Blue

5. Winsor Red

6. Alizarin Crimson

Credit Line