Fischtales

I love ferns! I would love to have them all over my backyard.... if I had a green thumb! But, since I don't, I can still paint them. Here is a step by step tutorial on how to watercolor the fern after you have drawn it, and you can also check out my drawing tutorial, on how to draw them on my Instagram page.

Step#1)
Outline your fern, lightly, with a color pencil. I choose "Kelp Green" which is a Prismacolor pencil.
Step#2)
Cover all leaves and stem with a light wash of light green. I used "Moss" green by Turner Watercolor.
Step#3)
Go back in with your darker green and shade in a few leaves, sporadically, keeping some leaves the lighter green.Add a touch of the darker green to the stem, down the center, and the stems down the branches of the plant. I used "Olive Green" by Winsor and Newton for my darker green.
Step#4)
This is your time to go back and reoutline if you want to make some of your lines darker. Don't go over ever line but just touch it up in spots, this adds variety to the line making it look a little more natural. I used my Dark Sepia Pencil, by Faber Castell, to darken my lines and shade where the branch meets the stem and I reoutlined the stem with the Sepia too.

This piece was a little more pencil than watercolor but you can see how mixing the two mediums can be a great combination. Know you can repeat these ferns in your bible, on a journal page, sketchbook, or in a painting. Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!
Melissa