25 Jul A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork, Lesson #30

This is it, guys! The end of our Brushwork Series, and the end of our lessons from the book, Brushwork Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson. Brushwork Lesson #30, A Design of Primroses, is the final activity in the book. It brings together all of the skills we have learned since the beginning of our brushwork series.

We (or at least, I) started out nervous and clueless but determined to learn a skill that I had been wanting to know my entire life. Slowly, but surely, lesson by lesson, we learned different techniques, we grew in confidence, and we set a foundation for watercolor painting.

In this lesson, we learn how to paint the buds and delicate petals of the primrose, along with some stems and leaves. I’m excited that this will serve as a foundation for many other flowers to come!

Our Grid Paper

Your grid paper is probably going to be different than that in the book. I say this because I looked everywhere for grid paper that was similar to the book yet never found it. So, we settled for what we could find. I would estimate that the grid paper in the book is about 1/2″ squares. Our grid paper is twice that, with 1″ square grid paper. As well, our grid paper is probably a different size overall. Because of this, the pattern in the book does not translate well onto my 1″ grid paper, so with each lesson I am redrawing the design with a few adjustments, as you can see below.

Materials Needed

• The book, Brushwork, Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson (also available online HERE)
• 1″ absorbent grid paper
• Watercolor paints (yellow, green, and orange or red)
• Watercolor Paintbrush, we used a Princeton Velvetouch round size 8 and a round size 6
• A glass of water (not used for drinking)
• A small plate for mixing paint and water
• A napkin to dry the brush

Happy Handicrafts Video: A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork, Lesson #30

The Process

We began with the yellow paint, painting the primrose buds around the perimeter of the paper. This helps to outline our design and guide our placement of the remaining design pieces in our grid. The buds are made from simple brush forms. The petals of the flower in the middle are made, each separately, by painting a pair of brush forms which meet close to the center of the flower.

We then changed color to green to paint the base of the buds, the stems, and the small leaves surrounding the center flower. Over and over again, you will see the use of the single brush form. Sometimes put together to form the base of the buds, sometimes alone to form a bud.

This final lesson is a beautiful example of how consistent practice can lead to massive progress that eventually feels effortless. When I began this handicraft, I scanned through the book in disbelief that I would ever be able to accomplish the designs. But as I quickly worked through this last design in the book, I realized that it was fast and simple. SIMPLE!

Thank-you for Joining Us!

Thank-you for joining us in our Brushwork homeschool handicraft series! If you’re just finding us, you can get started with our first brushwork lesson and advance according to your skill. We store all of our videos on YouTube at Happy Handicrafts. You don’t have to start with brushwork – we have paper sloyd, needle-felting, crochet, and more. Go explore and choose which playlist will be the best for you and your family! We’ll see you there!