Daffodils Watercolor Painting Narcissus Spring Flowers

There is still plenty of snow outside my studio window (and it's still cold), but I can imagine the daffodils and crocus pushing their little green tips upward as soon as there is a thaw. Can't wait!

So I decided to paint some narcissus flowers using for reference a small painting I'd done a few years ago from among the daffodils in my garden. To see how I paint this, keep on reading. (Or to skip to the final version click here: Narcissus Watercolor Painting.)

The composition and colors will basically be the same as the reference painting (because I liked how it turned out), but this version will be much larger (11x15 inches) and that will make a difference in the clarity of the details.

For reference, here is the original which was a 5x7 inch painting:

This small painting was done using only three colors: red, yellow and blue. I will do the larger piece using similar color combinations.

I begin by drawing an 11x15 inch pencil sketch on watercolor paper, then I paint the background with a mix of blue and red. (You can click images to see them larger):

The leaves and stems are next - the colors are mixed from blue and yellow with some red streaked in here and there:

When the leaves are painted, I begin the flowers by first painting yellow at their centers:

These narcissus flowers have orange trumpets, so I add orange (mixed from red and yellow) on the outer areas. I also paint deep green (blue and yellow) in the depths of the trumpet leaving some of the yellow under-painting to denote stamens. To shape the white petals, I use a mix of blue and red (a paler version of the background colors):

Flowers that are farther away are visually pushed into the distance with a wash of blue over them. You can see this in the far left flowers below:

'Narcissus Flowers' original watercolor 11x15 inches

'Narcissus Flowers'  is available as a fine art print on paper, canvas or framed print in my print shop here: Narcissus Daffodils Flowers Art Print.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the demo!

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I'm happy to take custom orders. Contact me for a custom painting of your pet, home, garden, grandkids, favorite vacation spot or whatever your heart desires.
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