Painting is one thing, botanical painting is a whole another thing. Botanical painting opens up a whole new world within the realm of art.

Plants, flowers, and nature are inherently graceful, making it incredibly appealing and versatile to immortalise these images through painting.

Your favourite landscape, that one beautiful flower in a field of grass, or a vigorous climbing plant – all perfect subjects for your next botanical painting.

What is botanical painting?

Botanical painting is a form of painting where plants and flowers are depicted in great detail and accuracy. This art form emphasises the botanical features of flora to celebrate their beauty and highlight their scientific characteristics.

 Botanical painting: what you need

 To start a botanical painting yourself, you'll need several specific materials and tools. Here's a list of the essential supplies:

• Paper or canvas: High-quality watercolour paper is most suitable as it absorbs well and is ideal for detailed work. You can also choose to paint directly on canvas.
• Paint: Watercolour is popular for botanical painting due to the fine and subtle colour nuances you can achieve with it.
• Brushes: An assortment of fine brushes, including pointed round brushes and flat brushes, for different details and textures.
• Palette: For mixing your paint and creating various shades.
• Pencils: High-quality graphite pencils for gently sketching the basic shapes before painting.
• Eraser: Use an art eraser to softly remove pencil lines without damaging the paper or canvas.
• Magnifying glass: Optional, for viewing and accurately depicting small details.
• Ruler: To measure and create a balanced composition.
• Good lighting: A lamp providing bright, natural light is essential for accurately seeing colours and details.
• Reference material: Use photos or real plants as references for your paintings. 

What's the most important of supplies? Patience. Art takes time to create. Especially if you've chosen a plant and want to capture it on paper, you'll need to take all the time you need for a great result.

The best paints for botanical painting 

Not sure which paint to use? When it comes to botanical painting, you can consider different types of paint and colours.

Types of paint

There are several types of paint to choose from to create your botanical masterpiece. Below are the different types of paint and their applications briefly described so you can make an informed choice. 

Oil paint:

• Properties: Oil paint consists of pigments mixed with a vegetable oil, usually flaxseed oil. It dries slowly, allowing artists more time to work and create subtle transitions.
• Application: Oil paint is often used on canvas and wooden panels. It's known for its rich colours and texture and is commonly used for detailed realism and layered painting techniques.

 Watercolour paint:

• Properties: Watercolour paint consists of pigments mixed with a binder soluble in water, such as gum arabic. It is transparent in nature and dries quickly.
• Application: Watercolour paint is typically used on paper and is characterised by its transparent quality and subtle colour transitions. It's ideal for landscapes, illustrations, and botanical painting.

 Acrylic paint:

• Properties: Acrylic paint consists of pigments suspended in a polymer emulsion. It dries quickly and forms a waterproof layer.
• Application: Acrylic paint can be used on almost any surface, including canvas, wood, and even fabric. It's known for its versatility and is often used for abstract art, modern paintings, and mixed media. 

Gouache:

• Properties: Gouache is similar to watercolour paint but contains more opaque pigments, including white. It has a matte finish and can be used similarly to watercolour.
• Application: Gouache is often used for illustrations, designs, and decorative art. It's popular for its vibrant colours and opaque quality. 

Tempera:

• Properties: Tempera consists of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder, such as egg or casein. It dries quickly and forms a matte finish.
• Application: Tempera was widely used in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance for murals and panel paintings. It's still used for decorative art and illustrations.
• Tip: Read our blog about tempera.

Paint colours

Once you've chosen your subject and the type of paint, it's important to select your paint colours. You can choose to gather all the colours you need or purchase some basic colours and then mix your own shades.

• Greens: An assortment of green shades is almost always essential in botanical painting, ranging from light, bright greens to deep, dark shadow tones. This includes leaf green, olive green, sap green, and terre verte. Green is naturally a prominent colour in plants and can be used for leaves, stems, and green flowers.
• Flower colours: Botanical painting requires a wide range of colours to capture the diversity of flowers. This includes shades such as red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, and blue, depending on the specific flower being depicted. Examples include crimson red, coral pink, cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, and ultramarine blue.
• Neutral tones: Neutral tones such as sepia, sienna, umber, and grey are important for adding shadows, depth, and tonality to botanical paintings. They are used for shadows, backgrounds, and subtle colour transitions.
• White tones: Although white is not a colour in the traditional sense, it's essential for mixing and lightening other colours, as well as for creating highlights and reflections in botanical illustrations.
• Earth tones: Earth tones such as ochre, burnt sienna, and burnt umber add warmth and depth to botanical paintings. They are used to create soil, branches, and creating natural textures.

Inspiration for your botanical painting? 

Feeling inspired to grab your brushes and paint to start your first botanical painting? Here are some ideas to spark your creativity:

• Botanical illustrations: Detailed drawings or paintings of plants and flowers, focusing on accurately capturing their features such as leaf shapes, flower structures, and seed details. This art form combines artistic expression with scientific precision and is often used in botanical guides, research, and educational materials.
• Still life: Still life paintings with botanical elements combine plants and flowers with other objects like vases, fruits, or books to create a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing composition. These works can range from realistic to impressionistic and allow artists the opportunity to intertwine the beauty of nature with human creativity.
• Botanical patterns: Repeating designs inspired by the shapes and structures of plants and flowers. These patterns are often used in textiles, wallpaper, ceramics, and other decorative applications, adding a touch of natural beauty and elegance to everyday objects and spaces. 
• Flower paintings: Vibrant and colourful images celebrating the beauty and splendour of flowers. As artist you can choose to paint individual flowers, bouquets, or lush garden landscapes, playing with light, shadow, and colour to bring the vibrancy and texture of the flowers to life on canvas.
• Plant portraits are images specifically focused on capturing the unique features and personality of a particular plant species. Artists may focus on the structure of the leaves, the shape of the flowers, or the growth patterns of the plant, creating an intimate and detailed portrayal that invites the viewer to explore the beauty of nature.

Now that you've learned the basics of botanical painting for beginners, you're ready to get started. Gather your materials, choose a captivating subject, and let your creativity flow. Whether it's your favourite landscape, that one beautiful flower in a field of grass, or a powerful climbing plant, they all make perfect elements for your next botanical painting.