Tutorial: How to paint pears in watercolour

What you will need

• Watercolour paper
• Watercolour paints
• Brushes
• Water jars
• Paper towels

Colours

• Lemon Yellow Deep
• Scarlet Lake
• Yellow Ochre
• Cadmium Yellow
• Sap Green

All the paints I use are from Winsor and Newton, but you don’t need these exact colours.

Painting watercolour pears – step by step

1. Using your orange or brown colours, outline your shape. It should have a rounded top and a wider bottom.
2. Fill in with a light yellow and red mix, in a watery wash. 
3. While still wet, start adding patches of other colours. I’ve added drops of yellow throughout, and a deeper red colour in the gaps.
4. Then add a brown colour along the left side and base to create a shadow area.
5. Don’t blend! Let the colours bleed and move naturally for the best effect. Smooth any hard edges as it dries.
6. Finish painting your pears by adding a curved stem and light green leaf at the top.

This watercolour technique is a really easy one to paint all kinds of fruits, including apples!

More watercolour fruit tutorials

• Oranges
• Figs
• Watermelon
• Lemons
• Plums