Hi friend,
If you have been following me here or on social media, you may know that I love to use watercolor florals in my Bible journaling- especially roses. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret.. florals are really just my go-to when I can’t think of something else to do on my page. “When in doubt, add roses” as I always say! …okay that’s the first time I’ve said that. But honestly, there are so many times that I stumble upon a verse that is SO GOOD and I know I need to make a pretty Bible journaling page to magnify it, but then can’t come up with something unique to do for it.
In these cases, I always revert to my trusty watercolor roses.
These roses were the first flower I learned how to do using watercolor, and still are my most used because they are simple, quick, and pretty. There are also a bunch of ways to vary it; like by changing up the colors, or adding multiple colors into one rose, you can change the size, or make the petals skinnier or fatter, and so on.
So in this post, I’m going to show you how to make these watercolor roses in your own Bible.
In this example, I am focusing on Psalm 16: 8 “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Gosh, how great is that?!
I have a video below that shows how to make the roses, as well as the process for my Psalm 16 page; but I will also show the 4 steps in this post!
If you want to know more about using watercolor in your bible journaling or are hesitant about trying it, check out my post here on watercolor basics.
Step 1
First, let’s paint a small “C” shape. Then paint another “C” opposite it starting in the center of the first “C”. This creates the little bud in the middle of your flower.
Step 2
Now we are going to add two more petals around the bud.
Since the first two petals from step one are vertical, these next two petals are going to be more horizontal. Start by overlapping this third petal about 1/4th of the way from the end of one of the first two petals (I chose to start at the top petal). And end about 1/4th of the way on the other bud petal. Next, make your fourth petal by overlapping the third petal by 1/4th and either completing a full circle to overlap on the other end, or leave it slightly open, like I did in the image below. (Leaving it open is just a fun way to vary it up and make it look less perfect.)
To make the shape of our petals, we start by applying very little pressure on the brush, then as we get closer to the center gradually apply more and more pressure, and gradually lighten up that pressure again as we get to the other end. That way we have the wide middle and tapered ends. Playing around with the pressure of your brush is something that just takes practice. And If you don’t get the shape right, you, of course, can go back over it to make it the way you want.
Be sure to leave a small amount of whitespace in-between each petal. This way the petals keep their shape and do not end up blurring together.
Step 3
Now we are going to start adding the body of the rose. For the rest of our rose, we are going to create circles around our bud using three more petals. It does not necessarily matter where we start with the next petals, so long as each new petal overlaps the last about 1/4 from the end (just as before). These petals are obviously going to be bigger and longer.
You can stop here for a smaller rose or continue on to step 4
Step 4
Repeat step 3. Adding circles of three petals around your existing flower. And continue doing so until you reach the desired size of your rose! Add some leaves and you are finished!
I recommend watching the video tutorial (found here) if you need a better grasp of how to make these watercolor roses. There is also a process video at the end that shows how I use them in my Bible!
Remember, like anything, watercolor takes some practice. I encourage you to try varying your flowers up. Try adding dots of other colors while the paint is still wet, changing the shape and size of your petals, or playing with the amount of whitespace. The great thing about art is that no two people will create the same thing. So have fun! Bible journaling is all about spending time in the word in a way that is meaningful to you! So enjoy the process!
A last note: I personally do not mind of my paint covers up the words in my journaling bible, but you can definitely keep your roses strictly to the margins!
