Wonder Wednesday 127: Delightful Dandelion Paint Along!
Dandelion Delights!
It seems this year spring is here before winter has even gotten started. We can all guess why, but today we aren't going to focus on that.
We are going to focus on strengthening
our connection to nature with painting!
Dandelions are some of springs earliest bloomers and very important plants for pollinators because they provide food, for bees for example, at a scarce time of year. Early spring is tough on pollinators because they are reemerging hungry, but there are few nectar plants blooming and a high demand for food from insects.
Dandelions are an unsung hero of spring for the pollinators, so let's celebrate them with a fun process painting technique!
Does this seem familiar?
At one point in time this project was part of my Skillshare Class collection, but I have decided to little by little remove most of my shorter nature painting tutorial videos from paid platforms and make them free for all to enjoy!
There is also a more detailed variation of the project in my book Draw Yourself Back to Nature!
Wonder Wednesday 127:
Delightful Dandelion Paint Along video
Materials
Watercolor paper
Watercolor paint - I used greens (hookers, sap, olive) and yellows (cadmium pale, cadmuim medium)
Paintbrushes
A pen (I used a pigma micron pen in sepia color)
A straw
Water, a paper towel, and anything else you like to have on hand when you paint or to protect the surface you paint on
Preparation
Take some time to get outside and observe dandelion plants.
Examine the way the petals grow, the leaf shape, how the stems emerge from the rosette of leaves, and anything else that jumps out to you.
Set a timer and study the plant for 5 minutes. Open to curiosity and push through the moment when you attention span tells you that you've seen everything. After that push is when the real observing begins!
If you don't have access to actual dandelion plants, use this photo.
Procedure
Follow along with the video and have some relaxed process painting fun!
Extension
Try painting other loose and wild flowers and fur with the paint blowing technique! You could start with zinnias!
Have you ever tried dandelion leaf tea, or dandelion leaves from the natural food store or farmers market in a salad?
Try them! They are both great & both super nutritious!
What other flowers would you like to paint in this style?
Share in the comments below!
Share photos of your delightful dandelion paintings on Instagram #wingswormsandwonder
Seeds to Sprout
Dandelion Cake
Dandelion plants are not only pretty, they are edible and very nutritious for humans too!
Bake your own cake with this recipe I created for my grandma's birthday!
Sketch Spring Flowers
Add more flowers to your nature journaling bouquet with this Sketching Spring Flowers video draw along!
Paint with Flowers
If drawing and painting flowers isn't enough, how about let's paint WITH actual flowers!
In this Wonder Wednesday 66 project we make watercolor paint from flower petals!