For this project I used:
These are affiliate links and if you use them you’ll get 10% off your first order and I’ll receive a small commission too.
Click the button below to download the outline for this project for free. All you need to do is print it out, transfer the outline to your watercolour paper using carbon paper, pencil transfer or by using a light source like a light box. See my video on how to do this if you’re stuck!
Downloads are for personal use only. Please do not sell any work based on this artwork and please credit me if you post work online that you’ve made from following this tutorial or using this line work.
Find the outline you can download from above and follow this video tutorial to transfer your line drawing onto watercolour paper.
Alternatively, draw two circles, one inside the other, and fill the space between the two with simple pencil sketches of seed shapes. I’ve used acorns, pine cones, conkers, linden or lime seeds, sycamore or acer seeds and hawthorn berries. Place big items (like pine cones) in odd numbers, spaced relatively evenly around the circle. Fill in the spaces in between with leaves and then smaller seeds.
In the pine cones, conkers and any other areas you want to, add in some pencil details to give a sense of the scales on the pine cones, the seed casings and spikes on the conkers etc.
You can add as much or as little detail as you like at this point.
I’ve used a dip pen and Indian ink to sketch over the pencil shapes I’d drawn. I’ve held my pen loosely, allowed it to skip and jump around for some loose shapes and gone over some lines more than once. I’ve filled out all the spaces, adding smaller leaves and berries anywhere there is a gap.
You can start painting anywhere you like, but I’ve started with the berries. I’ve given them a dab of potter’s pink, and added stronger spots of alizarin crimson and magenta while the paint is still wet. I’ve not been careful to stay within the lines, for this project, I’m very happy to make a mess!
I’ve painted in the leaves in multiple colours too. I want them to mix on the page. The oak leaves are yellow ochre with touches of Venetian red, lunar blue and moonglow. The hawthorn leaves mix aureolin yellow and lunar blue.
I’ve painted the linden or lime seeds and the acorns in shades of yellow and brown, again allowing the colours to mix on the page. The pinecones I’ve painted in water, then dropped in burnt sienna to some areas, making them darker at the base and lighter in the centre.
Paint the conkers (chestnuts) in the same way as the pine cones, by painting water or light brown and adding drops of darker colour at the edges.
To finish, add dots or dabs of bright colours in any gaps you can see, and allow them to mix with the still-wet watercolour on your page.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations of this project!
if you post your work on instagram, tag me @louracheldavis and I’ll see them, and share them in my stories!
