Create a contemporary orchid oil painting

Today we’ll be throwing, brushing, and pouring on paint to create these fantastic orchids.

Step 1: Preparing the Background

Place the Canvas in the portrait position, then with the 75 mm Brush paint half the panel Phthalo Blue and half the panel Pearl Purple. Wash and dry your brush, then blend these colours together. Allow the paint to dry before moving to the next step.

Step 2: Splattering Paint

To create the splattered effect, simply squeeze out various colours from the 12-pack of Acrylics on to the Oval Palette and flick them onto the canvas. I am using Turquoise in the Dimension paint, Cobalt, Crimson and Lemon Yellow in the 12 ml acrylic paint range. Allow the paint to dry before moving to the next step.

Step 3: Drawing Your Orchids 

Draw in your flowers with a White Crayon. An image for your reference has been provided on the last page of this document. When painting with oils, try to use a different brush for each main colour to avoid contamination.

Step 4: Oil Painting the Orchids

The Orchid petals are made from two different tones: White and Grey. Squeeze out some White and Mars Black Oil Paint. For the shadow, mix a Mid-Grey from 1 part Black to 9 parts White. Refer to the downloadable PDF for the placement of these colours.

Step 5: Yellows on the Orchids

Mix 1 part Lemon Yellow Oil Paint with 1 part Scarlet Red Oil Paint and apply two small spots in the centre of the Orchid, this will be the stamen. Now put a couple of dollops of Lemon Yellow Oil paint on either side of the stamen.

Step 6: Painting the Stem

Paint the stem using Emerald Green Oil paint, Viridian Green Oil paint, and some Yellow Ochre Oil paint. First paint in the Viridian Green over the stem and buds. Now use the wet Viridian paint and some Emerald on the top side of the buds and stem. Then, lay in some Lemon Yellow on the top of the buds for a highlight. Lastly, drag some Yellow Ochre along the stem.

Now that you know how, try using these techniques with other flowers or animals. The possibilities are countless!