Painting a realistic flower in acrylics takes time, patience, and a good understanding of color and value. In this post, I’ll walk you through my process and share tips you can apply to any flower painting, while using my iris painting as an example. If you’d rather watch the full video tutorial, you can find it above!
Step 1: Start with a Warm Underpainting
Before jumping into color, start with a base layer that adds depth and warmth to your painting. I like to use burnt umber across the background and darkest parts of the flower. This helps even out any streakiness that can happen with dark paint and builds a rich foundation for later layers.
Once that’s dry, I mix my own black using burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and a touch of quinacridone magenta (just to keep it warm). Mixing your own black creates a more natural, balanced look than using paint straight from the tube.
Step 2: Block In the Shapes and Values
When painting flowers, it’s easy to get lost in the details too early. Blocking in large shapes first helps you focus on composition and values, which is how light or dark each area is.
Values are what make a painting look realistic. If your artwork looks flat, it’s usually because the shadows aren’t dark enough or the highlights aren’t bright enough. Don’t worry about details yet; just aim to get your lights, mids, and darks in the right places.
Step 3: Mix Smart, Not Complicated
You don’t need dozens of colors to paint something beautiful. I work with a modified split primary palette for my iris painting above, splitting my reds only to get the full range of purples, reds and oranges.
For this iris, I used quinacridone magenta (a cool red with blue undertones) and cadmium red medium (a warm red with yellow undertones). Learning to recognize undertones helps you make better color decisions and keep your mixes bright instead of muddy. If you want to learn more about color theory, I teach all of this in my course, Color Mixing with Acrylic, where we build a complete color mixing guidebook from scratch.
For this painting, I used the following colors: quinacridone magenta, cadmium red medium, cadmium yellow medium, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, and titanium white (I also used a hint of phthalo blue for the greenery, but barely any).
Step 4: Layer Slowly for Realism
The second layer is where everything starts to come to life. Acrylics dry fast, so layering helps you get smoother blends and richer colors. This is also when I start refining shapes and adding delicate veining to petals. Real flowers rarely have harsh lines, so if your details look too strong, soften them with a glaze or semi-transparent layer of paint. Take your time and let each stage build on the last.
Step 5: Adjust Color Harmony
The bottom petals of my iris were the hardest part, shifting from cool bluish greys to warm magentas and deep oranges. When in doubt, pay attention to temperature: warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows) move forward, while cool colors (blues, purples, greens) recede.
Balancing both creates natural contrast and makes the flower feel dimensional. For soft, fluttery petals, keep your value changes subtle and your edges soft. Complementary colors like blue and orange can also add beautiful contrast and visual energy.
Step 6: Know When to Stop
At some point, you’ll hit that stage where more tweaking won’t make it better...just different. That’s when it’s time to step back and call it done. My iris painting took over 35 hours, spread out across many sessions, but taking it slow helped me get those subtle transitions and realistic light effects that acrylics do so well.
If you want to take your flower paintings even further, check out my courses: Painting Flowers in Acrylic, where you’ll create a peony from start to finish, and Color Mixing with Acrylic, which will help you finally understand how to mix colors confidently.
FAQs About Painting Flowers in Acrylic
What’s the best color palette for painting flowers?
Start with a split primary palette — a warm and cool version of red, yellow, and blue. This gives you flexibility to mix both vibrant and muted tones.
How do I keep my acrylics from drying too fast?
Use a wet palette or mist your paints with water. You can also add a slow-drying medium to extend working time.
What brush types work best for painting petals?
Use soft synthetic brushes for blending and round or filbert brushes for creating smooth, natural edges.
How do I make my flowers look realistic?
Focus on values first, then color. Subtle transitions between light and shadow make petals look soft and three-dimensional.
Do I need to varnish my acrylic paintings?
Yes: varnishing protects your work and enhances color vibrancy. Wait until the painting is fully dry, then apply an acrylic varnish in thin, even layers.
By following these tips, you can bring your flower paintings to life, whether you’re painting an iris, peony, or any other bloom. Don’t forget to watch the full video tutorial at the top of this post for a detailed, visual walkthrough of the process.
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