How to Paint a Poinsettia

Difficulty: Easy
About 25 minutes, plus 15 minutes to dry or set
8 steps

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A poinsettia is the perfect flower for holiday cards, and in watercolor it is easier than it looks. Erin of Snowberry Design Co uses one simple trick: paint a small X with a line through it first, and use those six marks as guides so the petals come out evenly spaced. After that it is two layers of red petals, a few leaves, a touch of gold and some fine detail lines.

How to paint a poinsettia: the short version

Paint a small red X with a straight line through the middle.
Paint a long petal over each guide line.
Add a second, shorter layer of petals in the gaps.
Tuck green leaves behind the petals, then a few small filler leaves.
Dot gold in the center and add dark red and dark green vein lines.

Why the guide works

Poinsettia bracts radiate from the center like a star. Getting them evenly spaced freehand is the hard part. Six guide lines split the circle for you, so every first-layer petal lands in the right place. The second layer then fills the gaps. You paint right over the guides, so they disappear into the petals.

Paint and paper

Erin uses a size 16 round brush and Daniel Smith scarlet red, with a size 0 round for details. Any warm, bright red works. Pick a sap or olive green for the leaves, and a gold metallic watercolor or gold gel pen for the center. Use 100 percent cotton cold press paper if you can. It lets the paint flow without blotchy edges.

Keeping petals and leaves apart

Paint each leaf right up close to a petal without touching it. If wet green meets wet red, the colors bleed into a muddy brown. If that happens, rinse your brush, dry it on a paper towel, and touch it to the bleed to lift the extra paint out.

Size and time

One poinsettia about four inches across fits a standard 5 by 7 inch card with room for a greeting. Painting takes around twenty minutes, plus a few minutes of drying between the petals, the leaves and the detail lines. A hair dryer on low speeds that up if you are making a stack of cards.

Common problems

Petals look flat. Let some areas stay lighter where the paint thins. Variation reads as light hitting the petal.
Uneven star. Check your guide is centered before you start petals.
Muddy leaves. Wait for the petals to dry before adding leaves beside them.
Vein lines too heavy. Use the tip of a small brush and a lighter touch.

Ideas for your poinsettias

Paint a row of them on folded cardstock for Christmas cards, add one to gift tags, or group three for a framed winter print. A sprig of holly or a few red berries around the edge finishes a card nicely.

More flowers and holiday painting

New to the medium? Start with how to paint with watercolors. Then try painting a flower or painting roses. Turn your poinsettia into a watercolor Christmas card, or sketch some holly to sit beside it.

Quick answer

Paint a watercolor poinsettia with one guide trick for evenly spaced petals. An easy project: about 25 minutes, plus 15 minutes to dry or set. Materials cost about $1 to $3. You need 9 things, including cold press watercolor paper, scarlet red watercolor and green watercolor. The 8 steps start with paint an X Guide for the Watercolor Poinsettia, paint the First Poinsettia Petals Over the Guide Lines, add a Second Layer of Poinsettia Petals and paint Green Leaves Behind the Poinsettia.

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