Watercolor House Plants (Online)
Taught by Diana Kuan
Diana Kuan is a food writer and photographer based in Brooklyn. She is the author of Red Hot Kitchen, on cooking with Asian hot sauces, and The Chinese Takeout Cookbook, on Chinese food and culture in America. Her work has also appeared in Food & Wine, Time Out New York, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. In addition to writing and photography, Diana has taught cooking classes for the past 10 years in both Beijing and New York. Her favorite foods are dumplings, ramen, and tacos, usually with hot sauce on the side.
We love house plants because they allow us to bring the beauty of nature indoors. But what about house plants serving as inspiration for art-making?
Join me in this beginner-friendly watercolor class, where we'll experiment with a range of watercolor techniques to bring your favorite house plants to life. We'll use techniques such as flat wash, wet-on-dry, wet-on-wet, and dry brush for simple exercises and a longer project. No worries if your paint colors are limited; we'll also go over how to blend various colors to get your ideal shades for leaves, soil, and planters.
For the simple exercises, I will be demoing techniques for a few different plants including Monstera deliciosa and eucalyptus. For the longer project, choose a plant that you can easily paint from during class, or have a photo of your ideal houseplant.
Materials needed to paint along at home:
- Pencil with eraser
- Watercolor paints. You don't need to purchase expensive paints; even a basic watercolor set with primary colors will be great for this class.
- Watercolor brushes. I will use both larger and smaller round brushes in this class (Sizes 0 to 8), and, but you're welcome to use what you have!
- Watercolor or mixed media paper. (If you need a recommendation, we love Canson XL paper or Strathmore 400 series. Both are very budget friendly and come in different sizes.)
Palette, disposable plate, or take-out container lid for mixing colors
- Water cup and paper towels
- 1 or 2 of your favorite houseplants, either whole plants or cuttings
