plate no. 9530

Flowers and Butterfly

Joan Miro, 1922

oilNaïve Art (Primitivism)flower paintingflowersbutterflyvaseleavesbranchesstill life

some experience helpful

This painting offers a good opportunity to practice rendering botanical forms and decorative patterns. Students can develop skills in color mixing to achieve the muted tones and in creating textures with layering.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes of the vase, flowers, leaves, branches, and butterfly, paying attention to proportions and placement.
step 02
Block in the background color with a thin wash of ochre or yellow ochre.
step 03
Establish the base colors for the vase, including the highlights and shadows.
step 04
Paint the main colors of the flowers and leaves, focusing on the overall shapes and values.
step 05
Add details to the vase, including the decorative floral pattern.
step 06
Refine the shapes and colors of the flowers and leaves, adding details like veins and textures.
step 07
Paint the butterfly, paying attention to the wing patterns and colors.
step 08
Add the cracked texture to the ground plane.

color palette

primary · yellow ochre · burnt sienna · sap green · red

secondary · titanium white · ultramarine blue · raw umber

Mix yellow ochre with white for the background. Use burnt sienna and raw umber for the branches and vase shadows. Mix greens by combining yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and white.

techniques