The artist
Kirara Wang
Kirara Wang is a self-taught freelance watercolour illustrator from China whose work mainly focuses on detailed botanical and anime themes.
Step 1
Sketch the outlines using a pencil of your choice and paint the hair with a mix of Burnt Umber and Dioxazine Purple. Once dry, paint the straw hat with a mix of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna, and dilute the mix very thinly at the sunlit part of the hat. Work wet-in-wet, mix Dioxazine Purple in the darker areas. Mix Cadmium Red Deep Hue, Yellow Ochre and a little water to create a tone for the skin.
Step 2
Work wet-on-dry with a thin mix of warm grey from the palette to create a shadow on the neck and side of the face. Use a small brush for the eyes with the colours from Step 1. Mix cool grey from paints on the palette and colour the blouse. With a clean brush, colour the jacket with Cerulean Blue Hue and Emerald using the wet-in-wet technique.
Step 3
Create a rich mix of Burnt Umber and Dioxazine Purple to paint the skirt. Vary the hue and saturation by adjusting the proportion of the two paints and water. Work wet-on-dry with a thin mix of cool grey to add shadow to the jacket, while still wet, drop in a thick mix of Chinese White and Cadmium Orange Hue.
Step 4
Mix Hooker’s Green Light and Cadmium Yellow Hue into a brighter green. Paint the leaves loosely. Before the leaves dry, paint flowers with Cadmium Yellow Hue to create a silhouette of a petunia plant.
Step 5
To create the effect of a splash of vibrant colours, use thick paint and leave fine gaps between different colours to avoid turning muddy. Mix Chinese White with a pale colour instead of using a large amount of water. Pansies: Cadmium Yellow Hue, Cadmium Orange Hue. Leaves: Purple Lake, Cerulean Blue Hue, and Emerald.
Step 6
Mix paints on the palette to paint socks and shoes. Then, mask the edge with masking tape and paint a square background with a weak mix of Purple Lake. Add a loose silhouette of some fl owers and leaves at the top left. Once completely dry, remove the tape.