13 Sep A Beginner’s Guide to Brushwork, Lesson #8

I was quite excited to start our brushwork, lesson #8. This is a lesson on yellow dahlia, and it’s my first time attempting such a flower. The book, Brushwork Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson, has a wonderful way of easing you into each skill, and then developing that skill and using it in many ways. In this lesson, the author takes us from simple brush forms to using those same brush forms in flower pedals, buds, and leaves.

What if My Grid Paper is Different from the Book?

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, while our grid paper is 1″ square grid paper. 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 I made a new version with some adjustments, as you can see below. And like I mentioned before, I don’t think it’s the pattern that is so important but rather practicing all of the brush forms that we have learned so far.

Materials Needed

• The book, Brushwork, Elementary Brush-Forms by Marion Hudson (also available online HERE)
• 1″ absorbent grid paper
• Watercolor paints
• Watercolor Paintbrush, we used Princeton Velvetouch round size 6 or round size 8
• 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: Brushwork for Beginners, Lesson #8

If you’ve been following along with us in our brushwork series, you should by now have mastered the simple brush form. Each stroke in this lesson uses this knowledge. As knowledge and skill develops, the process of painting becomes more and more enjoyable. Flowers emerge from your brush, buds and leaves take shape. As a new student to watercolor, you can begin to see the results of your practice, and it is so very rewarding!

As in our previous lessons, this lesson uses only two colors, yellow and green. Having mapped out and planned our painting, we know where the yellow centers, pedals, and buds are. I started with the centers of the flowers, as this can serve to guide the placement of the pedals and buds. Once the circular centers were complete, I added the pedals, first with 8 around a circle, then with 16.

The yellow buds are done by placing three brush forms, with the points upwards, and with the wider, bottom portions overlapping.

The process for the leaves is illustrated in the book. We placed three brush forms overlapping each other, with the point at the top, each merging into one point. Then we placed two brush forms coming up from below, merging into the three brush forms we had just made. We found that this worked better with a slightly larger brush, such as a size 8 or 10 round.

We completed our lesson by adding the stems and leaves around the yellow buds.

Brush work is hard to explain and is so much easier to learn by watching – so be sure to follow us on our YouTube channel, Happy Handicrafts. There you will find video lessons for each of our Brushwork lessons. You’ll also find other handicrafts that you may want to incorporate into your homeschool curriculum. We create these videos in our own homeschool to be able to help others who may struggle with the creative side. Come join us – we’re crafty so you don’t have to be!