Watercolor Painting of Butterfly — Tutorial

 

This butterfly watercolor painting has a simple and effective composition which tells the story of a butterfly at rest. The butterfly is placed in the top left corner of the painting rather than in the center. Having the butterfly off center emphasizes the behavior of a butterfly that is often seen out of the corner of the eye.

Butterfly Sketch

The different areas of color (blue sky and green leaf) were first of all defined then the details of the butterfly were outlined.

Watercolor Wash

A watercolor painting begins with a wash of diluted paint. The first layer of color distinguishes areas also setting the color tone of the painting. The background has a wash of ultramarine blue on top of a purple wash. This is called a wet on wet technique which creates shadows and depth in the background.

Glaze Technique

The leaf got a wash of two different shades of green using the wet on wet technique as a result giving definition. A glaze was then applied over the leaf to further distinguish it from the background  A glaze is a layer of diluted paint over a dried area. Details are then painted with a small brush and undiluted thick paint.

Painting the Butterfly

Cerulean blue, purple and ultramarine blue paint where used in the wash for the blue butterfly. Details on the butterfly were added by dabbing blue paint which also gives texture to the butterfly. To attract the viewers eye to the blue butterfly as the main subject of the painting extra details were then added.

Watercolor Painting Techniques