Autumn leaf

8 October 2026

Video - Level ◆◆◆

Here's a really good beginner watercolour lesson - one single, large autumn leaf, full of vibrant colours.

It's a simple subject so that I can show you how to practise brush, wetness and colour control. We'll paint wet-into-wet, wet on damp, dry on damp and all the stages in between. You can use my leaf for this lesson, or pick your own and work from that. Try this with different leaves, not just autumn ones - it's an excellent way to learn how watercolour moves and blends in it's different stages.

To make the most out of the skills in this lesson, work quite large, even if you have to scale up your leaf larger than life size. This will mean that your leaf will move through the various stages of drying more dramatically than it would if your painted area is quite small.

Happy painting!