Quick Watercolor Lotus: A 10-Minute Painting Inspired by Chinese Brush Techniques
Finding Beauty in Simplicity
There's something magical about creating art when you're short on time. Those quick painting sessions often yield the most surprising results—loose, expressive, and filled with spontaneous beauty. That's exactly what happened with this quick watercolor lotus painting inspired by traditional Chinese brush painting techniques.
The Beauty of Minimal Supplies
Sometimes the simplest approach yields the most satisfying results. For this painting, I deliberately kept things minimal:
Half sheet of Arteza Pro paper (nothing fancy—save the expensive paper for larger projects!)
Size 12 round Princeton Elite brush (one of the first watercolor brushes I ever purchased)
A modest selection of watercolors from my palette
There's something liberating about working with basic materials. It removes the pressure of "wasting" expensive supplies and allows you to focus purely on technique and enjoyment.
The Single-Stroke Approach
The heart of this technique lies in the efficient "single-stroke" approach commonly found in Chinese brush painting. By loading the brush with multiple colors at once, you can create dimension and interest with minimal effort:
Load the brush thoroughly with your main color (I used rhodonite genuine pink)
Tip the brush in a second color (I used Peach Fairy)
Press down firmly at the base of each petal to create a wider stroke
Lift and lighten pressure as you pull outward to create a tapered effect
This approach creates natural color variation and petal shapes with minimal effort. Each petal required just one confident stroke—press, pull, and lift!
Creating Balance with Complementary Colors
The lotus flower came alive through the pink petals radiating from the yellow ochre center. To create visual balance, I added green lily pads using the same loaded-brush technique:
Filled the brush with Onat Diamond Yellow (a soft green)
Tipped the brush with Poseidon (a deeper blue-green)
Created curved strokes with a single motion for each leaf
The complementary relationship between the pink flower and green leaves creates that perfect visual harmony without overthinking the color theory.
Embracing Happy Accidents
Not everything in this painting went according to plan—and that's perfectly okay! The lily pads ended up looking more like leaves than I intended, but they still contributed beautifully to the overall composition.
This is the joy of quick painting exercises. They teach us to embrace happy accidents and find opportunities rather than problems. When working quickly, there's no time to overthink or fuss over details. The result is often more fresh and spontaneous than anything we could achieve through careful planning.
Why These Quick Sessions Matter
These ten-minute painting sessions are invaluable for artistic growth. They:
Build brush confidence
Develop muscle memory
Teach us to make decisive strokes
Free us from perfectionism
Allow for consistent practice even with busy schedules
I call these "brush miles"—those essential practice sessions that build your artistic intuition over time. Just like a daily walk contributes to overall fitness, these quick painting sessions contribute to your artistic development.
Your Turn!
I encourage you to try this approach yourself! Set a timer for 10 minutes, grab whatever supplies you have on hand, and create a quick lotus flower. Remember these key points:
Use a large round brush for expressive strokes
Load your brush with multiple colors
Create each petal with a single confident motion
Focus on the process rather than the outcome
Embrace any "happy accidents" along the way
Happy painting, friends! Remember that consistent practice, even in small doses, is the real secret to artistic growth. I'd love to see your quick lotus paintings if you give this technique a try!