• Basil Watercolor Painting Tutorial + a Free Printable

    In today’s tutorial, I’ll show you how to create an eye-catching basil watercolor painting! You can scroll down to the end of the article to download + print the painting featured in this tutorial for free.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    I’ve been planning a kitchen remodel that’s plodded along since January of last year. After a year and a half of waiting due to supply chain delays, the remodel finally starts at the end of this month. The finished kitchen will feature some open shelving, and I want to use that shelving as an opportunity to display artwork that adds personality to the room. Today’s basil watercolor art is the perfect thing, and I’m providing it as a free printable if you want a pretty herbal painting to add to your home decor, too!

    Kitchen in 2022
    This is our current kitchen situation, a patchwork of fixes and design decisions spanning several decades and several cooks. The double ovens (and the cabinets) have been around since 1958. Among other issues, the electric stovetop only operates on high and the sink leaks into the basement. The new kitchen will be light and airy, with a wooden floor and plenty of subway tile. I’ll share before and after photos here on the TPK Blog once the remodel is complete.

    Before You Get Started …

    Today’s basil watercolor painting project isn’t quite a beginner-level endeavor. It requires a considerable amount of blending and contouring! If you’re new to watercolors, consider enrolling in The Ultimate Beginner’s Watercolor Online Course. Complete that course, and you’ll be able to tackle this project plus any other herb you might want to paint.

    Enroll in the TPK Ultimate Beginner's Watercolor Course


    Let’s Make a Watercolor Basil Painting!

    1. Print the Reference Photo

    First, print out the basil reference photo. It’s free, and you can download it by clicking here.

    DOWNLOAD THE REFERENCE PHOTO

    2. Select Your Colors

    Now, select the colors that you want to use in your watercolor basil painting. I have chosen a simple four-color scheme consisting of Serpentine Green, Bismuth Yellow, Perylene Green, and Violet Hematite (all from Greenleaf & Blueberry). You can use colors from any palette you have at home as long as you have a light green and a dark green, a yellow, and a deep purple.

    Colors Needed to Paint Basil

    3. Make a Light Green Base Layer

    Now, place the reference photo printout behind a piece of 8″x10″ watercolor paper and put the two papers on a light box. Note that if you don’t have a light box, a bright window or a computer/iPad screen could work … though you’ll find yourself at a bit of an uncomfortable angle as you paint.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    Your reference photo will shine up beautifully through a piece of watercolor paper. (I’m using an Artograph 930 Light Pad.)

    Next, use a size 3 paintbrush to cover the entire piece of basil with your light green tone (Serpentine Green). I love using a light box to get an herbal painting started in this way for two reasons. First of all, it allows you to create an accurate layout without making pencil guidelines, which can be hard to completely erase from watercolor pieces. Secondly, it’s a big timesaver! You get your layout right the first time without frustration.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    Use your size 3 paintbrush and light green watercolor to paint over the entire piece of basil.

    Once you finish, the basil won’t be a uniform green tone. Instead, it will look something like the piece below:

    Basil watercolor painting draft
    The beauty of watercolor is that it’s not consistent. Light and dark patches of color work together to make an interesting painting.

    4. Create Ombré Lettering

    Once you’ve got that light green draft on the page, use that same light green paint and a size 0 paintbrush to paint over the top third of the “B” in “BASIL”.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Then, while the light green paint is still wet, blend a darker green into it (like Perylene Green). If you can clearly see the juncture between the two colors when you’re finished putting on the darker green, moisten your brush with only water. Then, put your wet brush at the juncture and gently move it back and forth between the two colors to fill in more of the letter. Voilà! Your colors will re-hydrate and blend together.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Now, end your letter by applying your dark purple shade (Violet Hematite) to the bottom part of the letter. Blend it into the darker green in the middle part of the letter.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Use the same blending technique on the rest of the letters. You’ll end up with an eye-catching ombré effect that goes from light green at the top to an earthy deep purple at the bottom.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    5. Shade Your First Watercolor Basil Leaf

    Once you’re finished painting the letters, you’re done with the light box. You can put it away, then continue on with the project by using your watercolor paper and the reference photo.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Now, moisten a small paintbrush (anywhere from size 000 to size 0) with light green paint. Use the photo of the basil as a reference as you draw lines with the paintbrush to separate the leaves.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    When you apply more light green paint to the original light green paint, you get subtle green lines.

    The trick to any botanical painting? Take it one element at a time. In the case of this basil watercolor painting, you’ll want to focus on one leaf, completely finish it, then move on to the next. I prefer to do it this way because I find that if I try to do a little of this and a little of that on all leaves at the same time, I get overwhelmed. So: pretend that each leaf you are working on is the only leaf, do your best to make it a lovely leaf, then move on.

    To get started, use your dark green tone to paint in the shadows in the top left leaf. (Again, use your reference photo to figure out where those shadows are.)

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Once you paint the dark green shadows, you’ll want to blend them in to the leaf. To do that, moisten your brush with just water, then rub the wet bristles at the edges of your shadow. Your goal is to tease out the edges of the shadow so the shadow fades from dark green into the light green color.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    After your dark green shadows are painted, it’s time to go in and add that deep purple color! Figure out where that color should appear by observing the leaf in the reference photo again. Look at where the darkest shadows are, and that’s where you’ll paint that purple color.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock
    If you get confused about where to paint your shadows, that’s okay. Just do your best! Even if the shadows aren’t accurately placed, you’ll still have amazing color contrast.

    5. Continue Shading

    Use the technique outlined in Step 4 to shade and blend every leaf. The series of photos below will show you how I painted one leaf at a time:

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Don’t forget to include light veins in most of the leaves, which is how they appear in the reference photo.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    The secret to a lovely basil watercolor painting? Blend, blend, blend. (If you’ve got shaky blending skills, consider taking The Ultimate Beginner’s Watercolor Online Course).

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Don’t be afraid to use a high concentration of the dark green and deep purple. Those two colors contrast beautifully with the light green.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    A lot of people are afraid to put a lot of contrast in their pieces, but contrast will make the piece look realistic. More contrast will result in leaves that have a realistic, nearly 3D look.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Continue to work your way down the plant.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    See how realistic the leaf in the middle left looks with some strategic blending?

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    Just keep painting one leaf at a time until you’re finished! This isn’t a speedy project, so it’s okay if it takes you a couple of sessions to finish painting it. In the world of watercolor, slow and steady is always good.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    In the end, this 8″ x 10″ basil painting took me around four hours to paint.

    Herbal Watercolor Tutorial + a Free Printable | The Postman's Knock

    6. Enjoy!

    Once you’ve finished your painting, there’s no need to apply a fixative. If you can, frame the piece and keep it out of direct sunlight. It should stay vibrant for years to come, especially if you used artist grade paints to create it.

    This painting is going to look *fabulous* in my new kitchen.

    Free Printable Watercolor Basil Art

    This basil watercolor art is a fun project to create, but it does involve a chunk of time! If you like the artwork, but you don’t have the time to make it yourself, I’ve made this into a free downloadable printable for you. Choose from three different sizes — 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, and 8″ x 10″.

    Basil on Display
    This is the 5″ x 7″ version of the printable watercolor basil art.

    DOWNLOAD THE FREE WATERCOLOR BASIL ART 


    Remember, if the techniques used in this tutorial intimidate you, it’s a good idea to take The Ultimate Beginner’s Watercolor Online Course. Alternatively, for a free run-through of basic watercolor techniques, see Painting with Watercolors for Beginners (and Painting with Watercolors for Beginners Part II). Happy painting, and have a great weekend.

    Warmly,

    Lindsey's Signature | The Postman's Knock

    This article first appeared on the TPK Blog in May of 2015. I updated it to include new photos, helpful printables, and clearer information.