Watercolour Poppy Painting Practice

Wet your brush and activate your red watercolour paint on the palette, creating a puddle of colour.

Paint a heart shape on its side onto your watercolour card, keeping it loose and organic.

Paint another heart shape inside the first one, still using red paint.

Take a clean, wet brush and run it around the edge of your design to create a soft halo of water.

Drop more red paint into the darker areas of your heart design whilst the paper is still wet.

Mix black with red to create a burgundy colour on your palette.

Paint a crack or line down the centre of your heart using the darker burgundy mixture.

Fill in one side of the cracked heart with the darker colour to create shadow and dimension.

Allow the piece to dry slightly, then add more black detail to define the centre of the poppy.

Splash clean water around the poppy to soften edges and create a natural bleed effect.