Fearless Friday, An Iris Comes to Life
I’ve been so fascinated watching Spring come to life ~
everyday I see more flowers sprouting up
and trees covered in blooms…
Let’s bring an iris to life with a paint brush!
I looked at iris photos on line
and used the photos as reference for the painting~
there are so many varieties!
Begin by painting the outline of the flower’s petals



Then establish the yellow areas,
and begin to darken the edges of the petals


Use mid tone washes to start filling in the petals

Add dark lines with a liner brush
Fill in the yellow areas and add a stem

And leaves

At this point I went back and added a few more dark touches

A little splatter* to finish
*to create splatter, load a round brush with water and paint color Hold a plate or anything with a hard edge horizontally over the painting and tap your loaded brush on the edge. Small drops of color will leave the brush and land on the paper. Practice and experiment on a piece of scrap paper to get the hang of it.
“Spring Iris” 9″ x 6″ watercolor on mixed media paper

Fill your world with flowers…
Be Fearless!
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Sundays on Silverado/ Happiness is Homemade
What’s for Dinner / Love Your Creativity
Between Naps on the Porch / Turn About Tuesday
Wednesday Linky Party / Karin’s Cottage Linky Party / Creative Crafts





RSS - Posts


















Gorgeous artwork, Jenna. Have a great weekend ahead!
Thank you Angie, you too!
Jenna, your iris is stunning! I think the iris bloom is so beautiful and intricate. Wishing you a lovely weekend, stay safe and dry today!
Thanks Pam, I plan to stay cozy today!
Oh, I love this! Irises are so beautiful.
Thank you Dorothy, they are, I wish I had some in my yard!
My irises will be blooming soon, and I may have to pluck one for a model. You always make it look easy!
Thanks Leslie Anne, happy painting!
Wonderful flower, Iris. Greetings on Women’s Day and I wish you a lot of luck. Hugs!
Thank you! Happy International Women’s Day!
Great tutorial! I love irises–especially the deep, vibrant purples.
Thank you Linda, they are so beautiful!
The Iris is lovely! I love purple generally, but it is one of my college colors–purple and white. I have loved irises since I was a little girl–they seemed so regal with their straight stalks and royal purple color. Jenna, thanks for bringing spring our way! Georgia Gal
Thanks Georgia Gal, Irises are indeed regal, the perfect word to describe them!
I love it! You are getting so good with watercolors, Jenna.
Thank you 🙂
Beautifully done.
Thank you!
Your Iris is lovely! You show how delicate they are.
Thank you!
Thank you Nancy, Iris are so pretty and regal!
Beautiful Jenna! Watercolor is the perfect medium for details of an Iris. ♥
Thanks Mary, it was fun to paint 🙂
That is beautiful!
Thank you so much Joanne!
Oh, this is so pretty Jenna – I love the combination of yellow, green, and that wonderful purple. And I love your signature splatter too! How nice that flowers are starting to come up and trees are starting to blossom – we still have snow here so it will be a month or two yet. Enjoy all the new buds of spring!
Thank you Kim, Iris are so much fun to paint, I love their shapes and colors! Snow still, yikes, stay cozy!