How to Paint Chicory in Watercolor
In this watercolor painting tutorial, you'll learn how to paint chicory wildflowers, which bloom in lovely shades of blue and purple with little pops of pink.
I love learning about the flowers I’m painting, so here’s a fun fact to kick off our tutorial. Did you know that chicory root was once mixed with coffee grounds during times of rationing to make coffee more affordable? This tradition lives on in New Orleans-style coffee, giving it a rich, earthy flavor.
In the tutorial below, we’re going to cover color mixing, preparing your palette, sketching a chicory flower, and techniques to add depth and detail to your artwork.
Supplies
For this watercolor tutorial, you’ll need:
Clean Water
Paper Towels
These are all suggestions, so feel free to use any supplies you have readily available. The most important thing is to begin creating and enjoying the process.
Note: if you purchase anything using these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps me publish free tutorials like this one!
Before we dive in, check out my Free Ultimate Watercolor Guide! This guide will help you start painting with confidence. Explore my recommended supplies, learn how to select the right paints, and find out where to buy the best materials. Packed with practical tips to improve your skills and make painting more enjoyable, this guide is your perfect companion for mastering watercolor techniques.
Drawing Chicory Flowers
To start, take a look at a reference image of chicory flowers so that you have an idea of what we’ll be painting.
When drawing flowers, it’s helpful to break them down into their basic shapes. You’ll mark these shapes with guidelines that will help you determine where to place the different elements of the flower. The chicory flower is an elliptical shaped flower, so start by drawing an ellipse with a dot to mark the center, or cone, of the flower.
Note: I’m drawing with a Sharpie so that you can see it on camera, but you’ll want to draw your guidelines with pencil!
Next, draw rays that go through the center which show where the petals will be.
After this, fill in the different petals starting from the center and going to the edge of the circle. Practice a few petals from different angles, taking note of their rectangular shape with serrated edges.
Now let's try drawing it from a different perspective!
Start with an ellipse like before, but place the center of the flower closer to the viewer, so it makes a saucer-like shape. Then, arrange the rays to go through the center for petal placement.
To make the flower look more realistic, the petals at the front should be shorter and wider. Draw them with a squiggly edge to represent the serrated tips.
Since the back petals are farther away from the viewer, they will be longer and narrower, decreasing in size as they move towards the back.
Chicory flowers have lots of petals, so fill in the remaining empty space to make them nice and full!
Painting The Chicory Flower
Now that you have your drawing ready, it is time to bring our chicory flowers to life!
Chicory is a bluish purple flower with occasional pops of pink, so I’m using different combinations of Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, and Magenta to create these flowers! If you want to learn more about my color mixing process, check out this portion of the corresponding YouTube tutorial!
Painting Technique #1 - Paint From a Sketch
If you’d like, you can create a sketch to help you determine where to paint the different elements of the flower. Then start painting petal-by-petal!!
Painting Technique #2 - Loose Floral Painting
You can also paint beautiful chicories without sketching the flowers first. Sketching things ahead of time is the most helpful way to understand a flower’s characteristics, but once you understand the shape and form of a flower, challenge yourself by trying to paint it without any guidelines. Remember, one of the best things about floral watercolor painting is that there isn’t one single correct way to paint a flower.
To paint the loose chicory without following a sketch, create a watery mix with your paint and start painting petals that follow the shape you studied in the sketching portion.
Then, add details by dropping more pigment along the edges.
While the paint is still wet, add in a drop of blue at the center to add contrast. The pigment will bloom out to the rest of the flower creating a beautiful blend!
If you want to add some more definition to the petals, you can use a clean, damp brush to pick up paint from the flowers to create highlights. Contrasting areas of light and dark on your flower will help define the petals and make it more lifelike!
Painting Technique #3 - Stamping
You can also use your brush as a stamp. Pick up paint with your brush and stamp down each petal using the fibers of the brush to give the edges of the petals their signature serrated look.
You can also stamp and pull the brush towards the center of the flower.
To add more depth, drop paint where you want to add shadows, and add pink for visual interest.
When painting in a loose style like this, I like adding stems while the paint is wet. It allows the colors to blend in fun and unexpected ways!
Final Touches
Now it’s time to add the details! Once the paint is dry, grab a smaller brush and more pigmented paint (less water means more pigment), then start filling in where you feel the petals will be. Use a small detail brush to add expressive outlines to define the petals.
Another method for adding texture and definition is to create the illusion of where the petals would be. Add fluffy dark petal shapes in the center of the flower to give it some depth and complexity.
You can even blot some paint away with your paper towel to add texture
Finish it up by adding some contour lines into the petals to add extra depth and detail!
As you can see, there are lots of different techniques you can use to paint chicory. Starting with a good foundation of understanding the flower’s structure will set you up for loose floral painting success!
Remember, practice is key, and every painting is an opportunity to learn and grow as an artist. So gather your materials, unleash your creativity, and enjoy the beauty of watercolor painting!
Happy painting,
Alex
If you enjoyed painting chicory flowers, check out how to paint peony flowers in this free tutorial!
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