I’ve chosen to paint the variegated version of Ficus elastica for this project. This resilient tropical favourite has an interesting, almost camouflage, painterly texture that can be captured well in watercolor.
› Hot-pressed watercolor paper
› Pencil
› Mixing palette
› Scrap watercolor paper for color testing
› Water jars
› 12mm (½in) oval wash brush
› No. 10 round brush
› No. 4 round brush
Yellow Light
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Green
Phthalo Blue
Cadmium Red
Base colors
Yellow Light + Ultramarine Blue
Make two mixes, one with more yellow (top) and one with more blue (bottom)
Midtone
Ultramarine Blue + Phthalo Green + Phthalo Blue
Add more pigment to move from midtone to dark tone
Dark tone
Ultramarine Blue + Phthalo Green + Phthalo Blue
Stems and flower
Yellow Light + Cadmium Red
1/ In the centre of the page, draw a tall stem from the bottom to nearly three-quarters the height of the paper. Draw seven leaves coming out from the stem, with one of the leaves upturned to give some variation in appearance and another angle to paint. Lightly mark the middle stems of each leaf.
2/ Load the oval wash brush with the yellow-toned base mix. Hold the brush flat to the page and lightly paint a wash over the top three leaves, loosely covering the basic shape of each leaf, but leaving some white just around the stem. To replicate the painterly camouflage pattern of the leaves, load the brush with the second base mix and dab this into the previously painted areas, with the brush held upright, creating a subtle texture.
3/ Apply the midtone mix in a linear manner, close to the edge of the white stem area. The contrast in colors should be quite dramatic, so try not to mix the colors too much. Let the paint dry a little, so the next marks will be more defined. Now build up this area by adding the darker green mix, applying it with the brush held upright and making deliberate linear marks.
4/ Repeat this technique with the remaining leaves. You want to make it clear that the upturned leaf is at a different angle with less of the top part showing. Use the midtone for the main part of the leaf, and the darkest mix for shading the top of the leaf, indicating the fold.
5/ Use the No. 10 round brush to paint the main stem with the midtone mix, then use the dark green to shade along the right edge of the stem. Use the No. 4 round brush to paint in the coral leaf stems and the flower at the top of the plant. This vibrant color adds a tropical flair to the finished painting.
