Easy Watercolor Flowers with Paint Pens

I’ve been obsessed with watercolor over the last few years, but finding the right brushes, paints, and paper has always intimidated me. When I spotted this cute idea for watercolor flowers on Pinterest, I had to try it! I think this little floral bouquet looks so sweet, and I hope you enjoy making one too.

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Easy Watercolor Flowers for Beginners

I have a confession to make. I bought watercolor paint pens a few years ago to meet an order minimum for free shipping. Ha! I knew they would come in handy someday.

I spotted this idea for watercolor flower bouquets on Pinterest and Etsy. While I’ve experimented with watercolor, I’m not very skilled. However, these brush pens make it easy to “fake it” since you simply add water to blend colors.

It’s easier than you think.

I hope you’ll have fun trying this painting technique. Remember, it’s not about achieving the perfect flower. It’s about enjoying the process.

With some practice, you’ll master this technique in no time. It’s a great activity for kids as well.

1. Add rough outlines of flowers

For this easy craft, you can use the shapes of real flowers for inspiration. But it’s also fun to create whimsical designs from your imagination.

To begin, use one of the colored brush pens to make a rough outline of your floral shape using small brush strokes. If you prefer, you can sketch out your composition with a pencil beforehand.

I like to create all of my flower heads first before adding stems. I’ll explain why later.

You can add extra shading to define the lines of your petals and make it easier to blend in the next step. Consider making some flowers in both closed and open positions, like I did with my watercolor rose.

2. Fill in shapes with the water pen

The secret magic happens when you use the water pen to turn the brushstrokes into a watercolor effect.

Fill the water pen with tap water before you begin, and gently squeeze the pen to release water. You may need to dab excess water onto a paper towel if the brush tip is too wet.

Then brush the water pen around the colored lines to fill in the shapes.

Sometimes, adding a dot of paint is all you need before mixing with the water pen (see above). For the purple flower, I made small slashes with the paint pen and expanded the petals into ovals using the water pen.

Once you have filled in the color to your liking, wipe the water brush on a paper towel to clean it.

3. Follow the same steps to add stems

I learned that it pays to wait for the blooms to dry before adding stems to each individual flower. If you add greenery when the paper is wet, the blossom and stem may bleed together.

I added a single line for the stem and outlined the green leaves before filling them out with the water pen.

To create a small bouquet later, make the stems roughly the same size for all flowers.

4. Outline the flowers with a fine-line pen

Adding outlines with a pen will give the watercolor flowers more definition, like a detailed center with stamens. I used this same technique for pounded flower art, and it truly brought the designs to life.

For this step, I used a calligraphy pen (which I love), but the pen would sometimes bleed if I added more water afterward. I plan to experiment with waterproof fine-point pens to make the designs more durable.

5. Cut out the watercolor flowers

If you’d like to create a floral bouquet, cut out each flower leaving a small margin of white paper as a border.

You’ll notice the flowers aren’t “perfect”…and that’s why I love them. They don’t have to look like any particular variety, though I used tulips, roses, and poppies for some inspiration.

6. Wrap the bouquet in paper

For a finishing touch, use an old book page to wrap your flowers up in a bouquet. I used washi tape and a paper clip to hold my flowers together.

The point is to have fun and get your daily dose of creativity. This relaxing craft will hopefully inspire you to develop an art practice you can enjoy for many years.

Don’t forget to pin this for later to share the tutorial with friends.

Pin it for later!

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