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Materials
-watercolour paint
-watercolour paper
-medium and small round brush
-water and paper towel/rag
-pencil
-eraser
Tips
-sketch lightly
-work in layers
-test colours on a scrap piece of paper
-water is like the “white” paint. The more water you add, the lighter the colour will be. The less water, the darker the colour will be. You can also leave parts of the paper unpainted for white.
-be patient and let layers dry in between. This is especially important for painting in fine details!
Instructions
Cactus #1
1. Sketch out an outline of a cactus. Make sure to sketch very lightly so the pencil doesn’t show through the paint. It will also be easier to erase any mistakes. You do not need to sketch in any details like lines or spikes as we will paint them in later.
2. Dip your medium brush into water. Swirl your brush into the paint to activate it. Then paint in one layer of green into the cactus.
3. While the paint is still wet, dab in darker green near the bottom of the cactus for shadows. Let it dry.
4. When it is dry, use the very tip of a small round brush to paint in thin lines. You can do this by placing your wrist down onto the paper and moving your fingers up and down to make the line. Apply minimal pressure when painting the lines. Feel free to practice on a scrap piece of paper!
Cactus #2
1. Sketch cactus shape lightly. You can make any shape you’d like.
2. Paint in a thin layer of clean water into the sketch.
3. Dab in green paint. The water will help the paint spread out and blend.
4. With a clean damp brush, move and blend the colour around to your liking. Let dry.
5. When it is dry, use the use the very tip of a small round brush to paint in thin lines. You can do this by placing your wrist down onto the paper and moving your fingers up and down to make the line. Apply minimal pressure when painting the lines. Feel free to practice on a scrap piece of paper!
Plant #3
1. Sketch a plant shape lightly. You can make any shape you’d like.
2. Paint in one layer of green. You can use different greens. Here I mixed in a bit of yellow to warm up the green.
3. Paint in any shadows. You can also paint in a second layer of green to darken it.
4. When dry, paint in any last details!
We had a great time painting cactuses with youth from Saskatoon Open Door Society!
If you would like to share your art, tag us on Facebook and Instagram!
