Whether you’re painting homemade Valentine’s Day cards, or just feeling in a romantic mood, creating a hearts pattern is easy!
This tutorial shows you 3 ways to paint hearts in watercolour so you can make a beautiful piece for your love.
What you will need
- Watercolour paper or cards
- Watercolour paints
- Brushes
- Water jars
- Paper towels
Colours
- Scarlet Lake
- Winsor Red Deep
- Opera Rose
- Cadmium Orange
All the paints I use are from Winsor and Newton, but you don’t need these exact shades. Any reds and pinks will be perfect.
Painting watercolour hearts: wet on wet
- Mix up a dark red and paint your first heart shape. Outline first, then fill in with colour.
- While it’s still wet, add a second heart next to it. Allow the shapes to connect and touch and let the paint blend naturally.
- Keep going to create a line of watercolour hearts.
Painting watercolour hearts as a pattern
- Start with your first heart – use a pale, watery mix and outline your shape. Fill in with paint.
- While it’s still wet, add a second heart shape in a different colour and allow it to touch, letting the paint blend out.
- Keep adding other hearts, always changing the colours, sizes and placement. Aim to create diagonals for the best composition.
- Add outlines of hearts in the darkest paint to create contrast.
Painting watercolour hearts – layering wet on dry
- Use a pale mix of paint to ensure the effect is translucent – you’ll need a lot more water than paint. Outline your first hearts and fill in the shapes, keeping them all separate.
- Let them dry, then mix up a light value in a different colour. Overlap more hearts on top, ensuring you can still see the bottom layer through.
- Keep building up the layers once it’s dry, varying the colours as you go.
There you have 3 ways to paint beautiful hearts patterns in watercolour. Put these onto Valentine’s Day cards, postcards, or just fill up a double page in your sketchbook when you’re feeling romantic.
More watercolour tutorials
Download my free watercolour supply guide
Feeling overwhelmed and confused by watercolour paints, papers and brushes? Download my free guide filled with insider info, including a list of good supplies for every budget, and my complete supply list!