How to Paint Heart Shape Dandelions

In this tutorial you will learn how to paint a simple pair of dandelions that are in a heart shape! To get the flowers to form that shape, I used erasable chalk.

The background of the painting is kind of unique! I normally don’t like to pair black and red together but in this case,I think it worked in an interesting way.

I actually used the same technique that I used in the background of my Three Hearts tutorial. I loaded my flat brush with three different colors and allowed them to just do their thing and mix together on the canvas! This technique is so fun because you never really know what will happen and no two paintings will ever look the same.

Then complete your painting with a word! I keep telling myself that I need to practice my calligraphy but it just isn’t happening! I guess my standard cursive looks okay!

Any how, I hope you have success with this painting and please share with everyone either on Pinterest or our Facebook page. Thanks for viewing this tutorial! Happy painting artists!

Materials:

Canvas: I used a 12″ x 16″ canvas
Acrylic Paint
- Red
- Dark Green
- Magenta
- White
- Black
Paint Brushes:I used a 3/4″ flat for the background, a 1/8″ flat (#4 bright) for the stems & leaves and a tiny round brush (10/0 round) for the dandelion seed fluffs and word.

Directions At A Glance:

Video:

Step By Step Pictures

Background:

In order to make that deep red background, I used 4 different colors on my palette: Red, Magenta, Black & White. Every time I loaded the brush, I put black, white or magenta on the corners.

The colors will blend together on the canvas and make this beautiful abstract red background! This is the exact same technique I used to paint the background in my Three Hearts Tutorial only with different colors!

Put red, black, magenta & white on the palette. Dip brush in red.

Then add black, white and/or magenta to corners of brush.

Triple loaded brush! That means you’re adding three different colors to your flat brush!

When you paint, the colors will blend together on the canvas, creating this beautiful abstract red background.

Make sure your strokes stay up and down!

Make sure you apply some magenta in there too!

Add different combos of Red with Magenta, Black and White. Add only a little water if needed.

Tip: Go easy on the black! Too much of it will take over. Just add little tiny bits to the corner of the brush.

Stems

I used a dark green color and the tip of a small flat brush to paint the stems. You can also try this with black or use a small round brush if you like that better!

Next paint a highlight on the stem with white. Allow the white to blend a bit with the green!

Then paint ovals with the same dark green. These are the dandelion weed centers.

Paint small leaves hanging off the centers.

Draw Hearts With Chalk

Now here’s the trick with this painting. Chalk! Use chalk to draw hearts on the dandelions. This will help you make the white fluffy things form a heart shape. The chalk will erase with a wet brush!

When I drew the heart, I made sure it went around the entire middle part of the flower where the leaves hang down. That way the “fluffy things” would look like they are sticking downwards too.

Wait for the canvas to dry. Use chalk to draw the hearts!

Dandelion Seeds:

Make sure you use the smallest brush you have for this step! Those lines should be very thin and dainty!

Use a tiny round brush and titanium white. Paint lines extending from the center to the heart edges.

Some of the lines extend all the way to the heart. Some are shorter and only extend about half way.

On each of the line tips, paint four or five tiny diagonal lines.

Paint Some Fly Aways

I think this was my favorite part of the painting! These wouldn’t be a dandelion without the little seeds flying away!

As a design variation, I actually could have left a greater chunk open on the flowers themselves.

Erase That Chalk!

Make them think you meticulously painted a heart shape with each of those seed lines!

When you erase this chalk, just make sure that your paint is completely dry. Use a clean wet brush. If you use a paper towel, it might be too abrasive with the paint and scratch it off.

After your dandelion has dried, use a wet paint brush to erase the chalk lines. You might need to add a few more seeds if your flower isn’t completely a heart shape.

Paint Word:

This is where I always tell myself “Why am I not practicing my calligraphy skills for moments like this!?”

Any how, if you aren’t confident in writing the word, you can always do it in chalk first and then paint over it. Or, if you want to get advanced, you can find a font you love, print it out and transfer it on the canvas!

Use the same tiny brush to paint a word.

Paint Leaves and Some More Fly Aways

For me, a painting is never finished! I have a hard time walking away because I always want to add more!

Any how, I decided to paint some more fly-aways. Then I painted some leaves! You will see in the video exactly how I did this but I used the same green as the stem and a small flat brush. I also painted white for the highlight of the leaves!

I painted a few more flying seeds and added some leaves on the bottom. For the leaves, I used the same brush and colors as I did with the stem.

Finished!

This was so easy wasn’t it!? Please share your painting over on the Facebook Page or on Pinterest!

How To Paint Dandelion Hearts