It has been a little overcast and rainy this past week. Where I live, we normally get a lot of rain in April and into May, but the April rain held off and now May is just downright soggy. So, in order to entertain me and my kids we broke out the rocks and paints and set to work on a new project. We decided to paint bumble bees on rocks.
Loose bee painting
A garden wouldn’t be a garden without bees buzzing around! And adding bees to a flower painting can be a fun way to inject extra energy and life into a composition. In this loose bee painting mini class, guest tutor Jennifer Rose will give you an overview of the steps to follow to paint a loose style bee in watercolor.
You can follow these if you’re adding a little bee to a painting. Or if you’d like to make the bee the main subject of your painting, you can download a line drawing, reference photo and paint list – and watch the full step-by-step video for FREE – by signing up to the free class taster selection.
Watch a quick overview of the process here:
If you enjoy this mini class, be sure to sign up for the full version for free. And check out these other mini classes where you can paint other garden visitors in a loose style: there’s a sweet blue tit bird, and a pretty butterfly.
And if you love bees, there are some more mini classes where you can paint this larger than life honey bee, full of close-up details and a small honey bee that could fit well into most compositions.
If you’ve enjoyed this class, please leave a comment below. Jennifer and I would love to hear from you!
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Donna on June 20, 2023 at 9:23 pm
thank you
Donna on June 21, 2023 at 12:01 am
I can’t find the full version of the bee painting. I would really like to try one of your classes. Donna
Amy Adams (Nature Studio Team) on June 21, 2023 at 6:49 pm
Hi Donna! You can get the full class for free via the free classes page here: https://www.naturestudio.com/free-class/ once you enter your email address, you’ll get access to the 4 free full length classes, including this bumblebee.
Denise on June 21, 2023 at 6:25 pm
Love your loose paintings. I have just started to play with that technique, you make it look so easy!
Bryn on June 23, 2023 at 9:29 am
“… please do leave Jennifer and I a comment … – shouldn,t this be … leave Jennifer and ME a comment… – for istance, you wouldn’t say “please leave I a comment” – it’s OK to say ME sometimes!
Love you work though
First, assemble your rock painting supplies:
- Rocks, look for rocks that are oval in shape and fairly smooth
- Paintbrushes (I used a medium width flat end brush for the large surfaces and a fine point rounded-end brush for the finer areas)
- Acrylic paint (yellow, black and white) I used this bright yellow acrylic paint from Apple Barrel for the body of the bee
- Paint markers (black and white)
- Paper plate and paper towels
- Pencil
- Cup of water (to rinse brushes between colors, be sure brushes dry completely before using them again)
- Spray acrylic sealer
Apple Barrel Matte Finish Bright Yellow Acrylic Craft Paint
Step One – Draw the Head
Now take your pencil and you are going to draw a line for the head of the bee. Go about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way down the body and draw a half moon shape.
Step Two – Paint the Bee Body
I used my larger brush to paint the larger portion of the rock yellow. This will be the body of the bee. If you have a darker color rock, you may need to put down a coat of white paint to help with paint coverage. I had to paint a few coats of yellow over the white to get the coverage I wanted. Allow the paint to dry between layers. I only painted the top of my bee, but you could always go all the way around the rock with yellow if you preferred.
