Watercolor Tutorial: Rose Wreath and Gold Hexagon Frame

It’s been a while since I’ve painted wreaths and this pink rose wreath with a gold hexagon frame is perfect for any occasion greeting card. Grab your watercolor supplies and let’s paint this together.

Supplies:

Paint: Ho lbein Artists’ Watercolor
Brush(es): Creative Mark’s Mimik Synthetic, round size 2
Paper: Canson XL Watercolor Paper, 7″x10″
Kneaded eraser
General Pencil Co. Draughting Pencil
Jars of water
Paper towel or cotton rag
All of my favorite supplies here

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Step 1: Sketch the hexagon shape

I actually used my cricut to cut out this hexagon shape. It’s about 2.5″ x 2.75″. If you don’t have it, that’s okay. You can freehand it, use a stencil, or do a different shape!

I always use a kneaded eraser to remove some of the graphite so that the pencil lines don’t get in the way of my painting.

Step 2: Paint roses

I’m painting with a small round size 2 brush so that I can paint tiny roses. I’m using the Quinacridone Magenta color and painting in mostly a light to medium value. Make sure to paint some half-roses to make it seem like they’re just peeking out of the frame.

A good tip to follow is to paint the roses with some space in between. You can always fill in the gaps, but you can’t add gaps.

Step 3: Paint leaves

I’m following the same step as the previous one with the roses, but now with leaves. I’m using the Terra Verte color and painting leaves coming out of the frame as well as the roses. This rose wreath is coming along!

Step 4: Fill in gaps in rose wreath

After the previous step, your wreath may have looked a bit empty with a lot of gaps. That’s okay! Now is the time to start filling in the gaps.

I chose a secondary green color, Davy’s Grey, to paint some slender leaves in the gaps. I also painted more roses and Terra Verte color leaves.

Every once in a while, step back and turn your paper upside down and to the side to see if there are any other areas to fill in.

Step 5: Add details

Some details I like to add at the end are the darkest values to the flowers and a leaf detail to separate the two brushstrokes. You can add whatever other details you want to as well!

Step 6: Outline frame

What’s a wreath without a little gold shimmer? I used the Gold color from my Holbein palette to outline the frame. This step is totally optional and it doesn’t even have to be metallic.