12 Days of Christmas Cards, Poinsettia
2015-11-23
A cheerful poinsettia is a lovely watercolor bouquet on a Christmas card for someone special. Here's how to paint it!
A cheerful poinsettia for your Christmas cards.
Materials
Cards
5" x 7" Strathmore Watercolor Cards
Pigment List
All paints I use are M. Graham transparent watercolors, except white gouache. Other brands I recommend are Daniel Smith and Schminke.
- Azo Yellow
- Quinacridone Red
- Maroon Perylene
- Ultramarine Blue
- Pthalocyanine Green
- White Gouache
Christmas Card Painting Steps
1. I start by loosely sketching the poinsettia flower in maroon perylene. Don't forget the splatter paint!
Let this dry completely.
Paint this card very loosely!
2. Next I dash quinacridone red around the petal to warm them up.
I use a mix of pthalo green and azo yellow for the leaves. I want bright shots of green contrasting with the red.
Let this dry.
3. I add just a few loose details with my #14 round brush.
I darken around the center with ultramarine blue.
4. I dash in a few details with my rigger and maroon perylene.
5. My final step is to paint the center with white gouache and azo yellow for a bright contrast.
This is such an easy and cheerful card to send to a friend at Christmas. This definitely makes my list of the quick cards, but it's very good practice at painting flowers too.
If you've never painted a poinsettia (or even if you have), this is a great excuse to get a merry poinsettia for your mantle. Look at the leaf veins and shapes. Notice that the flowers are simply adding color to leaves so the green merges to red.
I hope you put on some Chrismas music and have a lovely time letting your brush dance!
Merry Christmas and a Joyful Holiday to All!
Jennifer Branch
