12 Easy Watercolor Leaves Painting Tutorials

How to paint beautiful & easy watercolor leaves: 12 best art tutorials & videos on painting simple leaves, branches, tropical foliage, etc!

We just shared with you how to paint beautiful watercolor flowers here, now it’s time to learn to paint some watercolor leaves. 

How to paint beautiful & easy watercolor leaves

When you are painting watercolor flowers, it is easy to feel lost about what to do with the leaves. Or you may just want to paint some leaves with interesting shapes and colors, which make wonderful art on their own.

We will look at how to practice brush strokes and color mixing, and paint simple leaves, groups or leaves, and dramatic tropical leaves.

Materials and tools to paint watercolor leaves

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 paint watercolor leaves: 12 best art tutorials & videos on painting simple leaves, branches, tropical foliage, etc!
make leaf prints with real leaves on paper or fabric

If you want to get over the fear of painting, one of the best ways is to have some fun making some leaf prints first! Tutorial here. You will get your creative juice flowing without the pressure of being perfect!

Painting watercolor leaves with simple brush strokes 

Painting watercolor leaves with simple brush strokes

Practice different ways to use pressures when you put down and lift your brush. This will give you the important foundation to paint watercolor leaves of many shapes and sizes.

Video tutorial by Caitlin Sheffer on YouTube.

Just by using different brush strokes, you can paint very different watercolor leaf shapes.

use different size brushes to paint watercolor leaves of different sizes

It’s a good idea to have a few different size brushes, so you can paint leaves of different sizes, such as these simple leaves and rosemary leaves.

Video tutorial by Jenna Rainey on YouTube.

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20+ best watercolor flowers tutorials and videos!

How to paint watercolor leaves from photos or real leaf

How to paint watercolor leaves from real leaf or photos

Nature offers endless inspirations for our watercolor art. Gather leaves from nature, or use photos to study different leaf shapes and patterns. 

Video tutorial by Art Tutor on YouTube.

This tutorial shows you how to paint watercolor leaves from photos.

Painting watercolor leaf clusters

Painting watercolor leaf clusters

Once you feel comfortable painting a single leaf, you can practice painting a cluster of leaves. 

Video tutorial by Jenna Rainey on YouTube.

Like mentioned earlier, it’s always a great idea to study how leaves grow in nature, and different shades of greens you can create.

Make watercolor swatches of green colors

Make watercolor swatches like in this tutorial, or take photos. so you can refer to them when you paint.

Watercolor leaf shapes and colors 

Watercolor leaf shapes and colors

Watercolor leaves don’t have to be photo realistic in style. We can get lots of inspirations from folk art, decorative art, pattern design, etc.

Video tutorial by Shayda Campbell on YouTube.

These leaves with abstract shapes and colors are very beautiful and artistic. 

How to paint tropical palm leaf in watercolor

How to paint tropical palm leaf in watercolor

Some of my favorite wall art and home decor are watercolor tropical leaves.

Video tutorial by Jess Engle on YouTube.

Watercolor Monstera leaf painting

Watercolor Monstera leaf painting

Monstera is a dramatic tropical plant often seen in boho style homes. The large unique shaped leaves have inspired many artists.

Video tutorial by Mich Ranido on YouTube.

Modern boho watercolor tropical leaves art

There are many ways to paint tropical leaves in watercolor. Many artists prefer to start with a light pencil sketch, then fill in the colors.

beautiful watercolor tropical leaves boho wall art and decor

When painting more layers of details, keep the brush relatively dry, and build up the colors gradually.

Video tutorial by Anna Farba on YouTube.

Painting watercolor leaf borders and patterns

Painting watercolor leaf borders and patterns

You can also paint watercolor leaves in decorative styles with a mix of beautiful shapes, colors, and lines. This is a great way to make watercolor greeting cards, wall art, or borders.

Video tutorial by Ellen Crimi-Trent on YouTube.

Helpful tip: for this style, wait for the watercolor paint to dry completely before adding the next layer.

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3 Comments

  1. I want to have a new hobby because this may help ease my anxiety, which is why I’m thinking of enrolling in a watercolor paint course. Anyhow, I also agree with you that the right brush strokes must be used. Thank you for suggesting the importance of investing in the right color palette.

  2. Wow, your paintings look awesome! I have to say that I have never liked paints but I liked sketching and drawing. A year ago I decided that I have to break it up and try myself. And I started to paint only with acrylic paints but I’d love to try with watercolour paints. What I love to paint is still nature and that’s why I have just ordered a pack of lilies on garden seeds market which I’d like to get down on paper. Last year I did it with irises so now I’ll try myself in another kind of flowers!

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