6 Ways to Paint Grass – Part 2 | Tall Grass & Wildflower Meadow

Next, we'll try painting a taller type of grass instead of creating short, flat layers of grass. This time, I'll paint longer grass strokes to create blades that grow naturally. We'll combine light and dark layers of grass so the grass looks thicker and has more depth. For the distant grass, I'll still use basic colors such as white and blue. Blue, ultramarine blue, a little ultramarine blue, and some yellow to paint the distant layers of grass. I'll add a little dark color to the underlayer of this grass field. I'm using olive green and a little ultramarine blue. You can use a little water on the tip of the brush so you can move it more smoothly. Acrylic paint naturally absorbs a lot of water and pigment. When we paint it dry, it becomes quite matte, so I occasionally use a little water, just a tiny bit. That's basically it. The underlayer only needs to be this simple. Now, I'll paint the light layer for this grass area using light green and a little white. To paint this tall layer of grass, I'll use a brush with very thick bristles. Very. Loose and soft. This square brush is very common. People often use it to paint doors or metal, and it can also be used for walls. This type is very common. I'll use a little light green, a little white, and light green with a little yellow. Pay attention to how I hold the brush. I'll pull it from top to bottom. From top to bottom. Instead of painting sideways, I'll pull it downward. I'll drag it from top to bottom. As you can see, it creates beautiful layers of grass. Make a zigzag shape. Make a zigzag motion from top to bottom. I'm using a little light green for the light grass layer. At this step, pay attention, because you'll need to mix this color with white and light green with a little water, so it becomes flexible, soft, and fluid. Alright? That way, you can paint thin, tall blades of grass. Just add water. Only mix it with water. Make it nice and thin with water. That's good. Just like this. And we'll need to use a brush called a calligraphy brush. This brush is usually used for calligraphy. It's perfect for painting thin, tall blades of grass. You can pull from bottom to top, or from top to bottom. Use a gentle motion. At the tip of the brush, lightly touch the canvas surface. Just touch it gently. Only touch the canvas with the tip. That will give your grass a beautiful tip. Pay attention here. You need to pull the brush from top to bottom several times, four or five times, but only touch the canvas once. If it doesn't touch, move your hand slightly until it does. It won't happen perfectly in one stroke. Doing it in one stroke is very difficult. You need to repeat the motion four or five times before it touches the canvas. Just pull it four or five times. Don't expect it to work in a single stroke. You'll get a feel for it. It's all about feel. This grass is a little difficult, but it looks beautiful. If you don't want this much detail, you can stop at the previous step. Just use the large hog bristle brush and paint in the direction the tall grass is growing. This step is only for adding detail. I'll describe each tall clump of grass. This is called a grass plume. You often see these plumes on plants such as reeds or pampas grass. There are only two rules for success here. First, the paint needs to be very fluid. It must be very smooth. Second, use a calligraphy brush or another brush whose bristles are long and very pointed and very soft. They need to be soft. That way they can bend. You can observe them here. The blades look very soft and beautiful. They curve with the wind. Just paint them in a zigzag shape. Pulling from top to bottom looks better. Now I'll add more detail to each reed blade. You'll paint small leaf sections along the reed stems. Watch carefully how I paint. Just add accents to a few tips and a few blades at the tops of the grass. You don't need to do them all. Just add a few accents. I'll add a little yellow ochre to these grass plumes. These reeds. Just dab in a little. Paint only a little as an accent. I'll add a few more reed plumes in yellow ochre. Yellow ochre mixed with a little white. To paint delicate slender grass tips like these, you'll definitely need to practice. You need to practice and train your hand. I'll paint a dark layer. Then start painting a light layer. I'll paint these light grass tips and practice. Everything takes practice. If you want to make it easier, you can use the square brush we used at the beginning. Pulling that brush downward will also create layers of grass. This is the square brush I was talking about. When I pull it here, it creates them too. And that's it. We've completed the third type of grass. Long, straight grass strokes that create the feeling of tall grass. Thick and natural. This is one fairly simple way to add height and depth to a grass field by using a calligraphy brush. And paint mixtures thinned with water. Now, let's move on to the next type of grass. Next, we'll create a field filled with small flowers. This time, I'll combine soft grass strokes with a few colorful accents from the flowers to create a natural, lively feeling. We don't need to paint every flower in detail. We only need a few well-placed touches to create a beautiful flower field. This is part four of the tutorial on painting a grass field designed for beginners. I've written the color names clearly on this board with the three strokes. You can observe them and follow along. First, as in the earlier sections, I'll still paint an underlayer for this grass field. I'm using a little ultramarine blue, a little primary yellow, and a little white to paint the distant area of the field. For this flower filled field, I'll use many different colors to create varied layers of color. Just paint this naturally. You don't have to copy me exactly, because at this stage, you can use all kinds of different colors. The flowers will soon overlap this grass field, so there's no need to make the grass field too detailed. We'll focus on creating a harmonious balance of color between the field and the flowers. That's all there is to it. It's that simple. Painting the field is simply using green, yellow, and ultramarine blue. Every grass field has its own character and its own brushwork, but it's all very basic. There's nothing too difficult about painting it. In this flower field, you can see that I'm painting very freely. The grass strokes are very loose with touches of many different colors. The brush I'm using is a fan brush. Everyone, I'll add a little dark color to this field using ultramarine blue and a little olive green. Olive green, everyone. Olive green, I'll take a little orange as well. Just a little orange to paint some color variation. This light grass layer creates depth in the painting. Actually, this fan brush is very versatile. Depending on which direction you use it, it has a different effect. You can see that I can turn the brush sideways or vertically. Both directions work. It's very simple. That's the background of the grass field, the base for this section. Now we'll paint the flowers for part four. I'll paint some yellow flowers using primary yellow. Just place the paint down and pull it. I'll add a little orange as well. Just a little orange. I'll take a little pink, light pink, to paint the flowers. When this color is mixed with white, it makes flowers that are really beautiful. I'll add a few white flowers as well, placing the colors side by side. Lightly touch the tip of the brush to the canvas and it will create very natural looking flowers. Pay attention to the angle of the brush. Use the corner of the brush, the corner of this fan brush. Next, I'll paint some flower clusters. In the foreground, I'll paint these flower clusters with a little more detail. These will be the focal point of this grass field. I'll still use just the corner of the brush. Use the corner to pick up the paint, then use that corner to paint along the edge. I'll add a light layer to these flower clusters using lemon yellow. I'll add a little orange as well. I'll scatter a few flowers in different places. These flowers are usually partly hidden behind the grass blades and leaves, so we don't need to define them carefully. Just paint them quickly with loose strokes. I'll add a few white flowers and a few violet flowers. Finally, I'll accent some flower petals using a palette knife. Here's the palette knife. I'll accent a few foreground flowers with this knife, creating thickness in the petals. We've completed the fourth type of grass using this acrylic painting tutorial for beginners. This is a flower-filled grass field with many flowers painted using just a few brush strokes and a few simple touches of color. By also using a palette knife, we've created a natural scene full of life.