Floral Expressions in Watercolour - $380
From Popular Garden to Native Blooms
Thursdays - October 16 to November 20, 2025
9:30am - 1:30pm
Be Playful; Be Bold; Be Adventurous; Be Joyful!
This course will be about painting the intricate details of flowers.
Materials List Download
Dress comfortably prepared
to play with paint. Tea/Coffee will available.
Course Synopsis
This six-week watercolour course invites you to explore the beauty, character, and diversity of flowers — from the soft romance of Roses to the bold drama of Proteas and the lively intricacy of Grevilleas.
Each week focuses on a different bloom, introducing techniques to capture both their essence and individuality. Through washes, textures, and expressive brushwork, you’ll build a toolkit of floral painting skills, while developing your own unique style.
The Classes
The Love of Roses
We begin with the classic rose, exploring soft washes, layering, and building form with gentle colour transitions. The Focus is on capturing both the delicacy and strength of petals using tonal and colour variation.
Elegance of an Iris
Learn to suggest elegance and movement through flowing brushstrokes. We’ll emphasise shape, proportion, and how to use contrasting colours for dramatic effect.
Hydrangea Mystery
Discover how to simplify clusters of blooms with groupings of colour rather than painting every petal. Learn the art of suggestion, instead of ‘detail’. Techniques include wet-in-wet blending, subtle shifts of tone and leaving white/dry paper as highlights.
Sculptural Protea
Using a reference with strong lighting, we turn to the striking
protea – experimenting with texture, contrasts, and layering to
convey its sculptural qualities. This will be the most precise flower
we paint, with a major challenge in keeping narrow ‘highlights’.
For contrast, the background will be a luminous dark.
Banksia Structure & Form
The contrast between the specific shape of the banksia and the surrounding leaves and branches, creates an interesting encounter. An element of Stippling comes into play to capture the unique surface of the banksia flower.
Meanwhile the leaves are quite different, an opportunity to balance shape with painterly looseness, while keeping an eye on the mid-line light.
The Dancing, Intricate Grevillea
To finish, we paint the lively forms of Grevillea – using expressive line, and energetic washes to bring out their playful, curling character. This is a chance to bring together all the skills learned across the course.
Roslyn Hartwig uses a step-by-step demonstration method in her classroom to guide students through the drawing process until they have completed their work. Courses often include exercises and visual 'play' to enhance learning and creativity. Her workshops promote a relaxed and fun environment that challenges you to practice the technical aspects of watercolour. Roslyn encourages students to embrace the learning curve, emphasizing that perfection is not expected when trying a new technique for the first time.
Additional Information:
- Workshops are for ages 18 and up.
- Parking options, including on-street and off-street, can be found close to the studio.
- Seats are limited, so be sure to book early to secure your spot.
- By attending this event, you acknowledge that you will not reproduce or teach the techniques discussed for any profit-driven purposes. However, you are permitted to apply the skills learned to develop your own creations.
- Refunds are not available for change of mind or for any classes that are not attended. Refunds will only be granted if required by Australian Consumer Law. By proceeding with your booking, you acknowledge and accept this policy.
- By participating in this workshop, you consent to receive our 'Workshops' newsletter, which will provide you with updates on future workshops and classes.