A step-by-step guide to painting a wet-on-wet Plumeria

Sylvie Peltier Author

SUMMARY: Painting the Hawaiian Plumeria is a great way to boost your wet-on-wet technique. Follow this easy step-by-step guide.

Wet-on-wet painting is the most frustrating and rewarding aspect of watercolors. That's because you're dancing with a partner that has a mind of its own. But when you figure out how to dance with water, the results are simply spectacular. Is it any wonder that the acronym for wet-on-wet is WOW?

Basically, whenever you apply wet paint to wet paper, or add water to a layer of wet paint, you're painting wet-on-wet. The combination of water and pigment creates effects that are dictated by the chemistry of the water and that simply cannot be replicated by hand, making each painting unique and exciting to look at.

Wet-on-wet painting is challenging because different proportions of water and pigment will create different effects. An added difficulty also comes from the fact that water is transparent, which makes it hard to see where it is and how wet the paper is. 

Those challenges mean that one needs to practice wet-on-wet painting often in order to develop a feel for how water behaves under different circumstances. 

Arts of Course instructor Jess Rice has spent a lot of time in Hawaii and has painted a profusion of plumerias, a beautiful flower with a dark red center and petals that change in colour from light yellow to pink. Because plumerias have so many colours blending together, they're a perfect subject to practice wet-on-wet painting.

We filmed a mini-course of Jess painting a plumeria and I was excited to see how this might help any student master the wet-on-wet technique. So, I decided to give the Hawaiian Plumeria mini-course a try.

I painted on a 7.5 in x 11 in, Fabriano Artistico 140lb cold press 100% cotton paper.

Including sketching and drying time, it took me just under an hour to complete the painting. Jess's instructions were clear and concise. I was really impressed with how efficient his brush strokes are and grateful for his solid direction.

Jess used a #14 round brush at first and then moved on to an #8 round brush. I used a 12 instead of the 14 without any issue.

The colours he used were Daniel Smith: Aureolin Yellow, New Gamboge (a color similar to egg yolk), Alizarin Crimson, Rose Madder, Cobalt Blue, and Phthalo Blue.

Here are the steps that I followed:

1. Using a #14 round brush, wet the inside of the petals.
2. Apply Aureolin Yellow about halfway through the petals
3. Add a dab of Alizarin Crimson paint at the base of each petal to the wet yellow paint and watch it bloom.
4. Dilute more Alizarin Crimson and apply right next to the yellow to create a gradation from yellow to pink.
5. Dilute some very light Cobalt Blue and paint the rest of the petals.
6. Using an #8 round brush, paint the center of the flowers with a concentrated mix of Alizarin Crimson and New Gamboge.
7. Load your brush with some New Gamboge. Touching the center delicately, apply some of that color along the edge of the petals for about half an inch. The yellow and the red of the center will mix lightly.
8. Wet your brush and pull the yellow paint down along the petal. This creates a run of water allowing the yellow to gradate down the petal.
9. Still with the 8 round, add a bit of pink, yellow and blue onto the bud. 
10. Add some yellow to the stem.
11. Now it's time to do the background. Using your 14 round, wet the background. Be careful not to touch the wet petals, or make sure your painting is dry before proceeding.
12. Mix some New Gamboge and some Phthalo Blue to create a dark green. Paint the background with that mixture, varying the proportions of blue and yellow as you go in order to create more depth.
13. Splatter some water on the background to create some blooming effects that evoke other plumerias in the background.
14. Using a kneaded eraser, remove all the pencil lines.
15. Using your 8 brush mix a light combination of Alizarin Crimson and Cobalt Blue to create a light violet.
16. Paint this violet along the folded part of the petals to create a shadow.
17. Add a shadow in the same color where the petal of the flower on the right overlaps the flower on the left.
18. Add a touch of Rose Madder to the bud to give it more definition.

And voilà! Here is what my painting looked like:

I had a great time learning at least three types of wet-on-wet techniques. Now I understand better how loading the brush with the right amount of water and pigment is just as important as the amount of water that's on the paper. 

I've done this Hawaiian Plumeria mini-course 3 times already and every time I learn to dance with water better. Once you understand the possibilities of wet-on-wet painting, it really opens up opportunities for your other paintings. Suddenly, cloudy skies, shadows and distant forests become much easier to do and more interesting to look at.

Interested in learning more?

Jess Rice's wet-on-wet Hawaiian Plumeria video mini-course

Categories: : Watercolor Techniques, Watercolor tips