How to Paint Watercolor Purple Asters

Learn how to paint watercolor purple asters with this simple watercolor technique. This tutorial walks you through every step of the process, from preparing your initial color swatches to layering yellow centers and purple petals. Whether you are a beginner or looking to refine your brush control, these watercolor flowers offer a relaxing way to practice your layering skills.

When we think of fall colors, what usually comes to mind? Probably warm shades of red, orange, and yellow. And while I absolutely love those traditional autumn colors, I think purple is an underrated color for fall!

There’s something so beautiful about seeing little pops of purple and blue among all the warm colors of autumn. The contrast is just lovely!

So today, I thought it would be fun to bring a little bit of that fall inspiration into the studio and paint these beautiful purple asters together. This is a fairly simple floral painting that focuses on layering, creating dimension through different paint values, and using loose, imperfect brushstrokes to capture the character of the flowers.

You don’t need to worry about making every petal look perfect. In fact, I think allowing some of those imperfections to show is what makes watercolor florals so charming!

Grab your watercolor supplies, and let’s get painting!

🎨 Supplies:

As for supplies, I’m using a variety of mixed media. But if you only have watercolors, that’s okay! Anything extra I’m using can easily be substituted with watercolor.

Paint: Holbein Artists’ Watercolor
Brush: Princeton Watercolor Brushes, round sizes 6 and 3
Paper: Canson XL Watercolor Paper
Painter’s Color Diary
Jars of water
Paper towel or cotton rag
All of my favorite supplies here

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Choosing the Right Colors for Your Asters

Before I start painting, I like to take a little time to swatch out my colors. Even though I’ve used my Holbein palette quite a bit, sometimes I forget what certain colors actually look like once they’re on paper.

That’s why I love keeping a color swatch diary! It’s especially helpful when working with a palette that has a lot of colors. Rather than guessing what a particular pigment might look like, I can refer to my swatches and see exactly how it behaves.

For these asters, I’m looking for three main colors:

1. Purple for the petals

I’m using Permanent Violet because it leans slightly more toward blue, which gives me that beautiful bluish-purple color I’m looking for. When diluted with water, it creates a lovely softer purple for the lighter petals.

2. A warm yellow for the flower centers

Instead of using traditional Yellow Ochre, I’m going with Gamboge Nova. It’s a little brighter and gives the centers a nice golden appearance.

3. Brown for added warmth and dimension

For the areas surrounding the yellow centers, I’m using a combination of Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. Burnt Sienna has a warmer, reddish undertone, while Burnt Umber is a little darker and helps create contrast.

I love how these colors work together! The warm yellows and browns complement the cool purples beautifully.

Step 1: Paint the Yellow Flower Centers

I’m starting with my Princeton Velvetouch Round Size 6 brush and Gamboge Nova.

First, I’m going to paint small yellow circles throughout the composition. These will serve as the centers of our flowers and give us a starting point for building the petals around them.

Try to space your circles apart initially. You can always add more flowers in between once you have a better idea of how the composition is coming together.

For reference, my circles are roughly a quarter of an inch wide, although this will depend on the size of your paper and how large you want your flowers to be.

Here’s something to keep in mind: The size of your flower centers will determine how long your petals need to be.

Smaller circles will naturally call for shorter petals, while larger circles will need longer petals to maintain the proportions of the flower.

Don’t worry about making everything evenly spaced. We want a natural-looking arrangement, and leaving a little breathing room between the flowers gives us flexibility to add more later.

Step 2: Paint the First Layer of Purple Petals

Once you have your yellow centers in place, it’s time to start adding the petals!

I’m switching to a Princeton Round Size 3 brush. You can use a Size 1 or 2 if you prefer smaller details, but I find that a Size 3 works perfectly well for this painting.

We’ll start with a light-to-medium value of Permanent Violet. This first layer will establish the overall shape of our flowers, and we’ll add darker values later to create more depth.

Using the tip of your brush, paint small, skinny strokes radiating outward from the yellow centers.

One thing I want you to remember is that your petals don’t need to be perfectly spaced or identical in size. Some can be slightly longer, some shorter, and some can even touch or overlap.

In fact, I encourage you to resist the urge to make everything look too perfect!

Watercolor florals are so much more interesting when you allow a little bit of looseness and spontaneity into your brushwork. Don’t worry if some of your petals look a little messy. That’s part of the charm!

Continue working your way around the flower centers until you’ve established the first layer of petals.

A little tip: Be mindful of which flowers are still wet. Try not to paint directly into areas that haven’t dried yet unless you intentionally want the colors to bleed together.

For the smaller flower centers, I’m going to save those for later. I want some of these smaller flowers to look like they’re sitting behind the larger ones, so I’ll use shorter petals and allow a little overlap where appropriate.

This helps create the illusion of flowers growing at different depths rather than having every flower appear on the same plane.

Step 3: Add a Darker Layer of Purple

Once the first layer of petals has dried, it’s time to add some darker values!

You can take a break while your painting dries, or simply continue once the majority of your petals are dry.

I’m staying with my Round Size 3 brush, but you can switch to a smaller brush if you prefer more control.

This time, I’m using a slightly more concentrated mixture of Permanent Violet. Instead of adding darker color to every single petal, I’m going to be selective about where I place these details.

I’m concentrating the darker purple near the areas where the petals meet the center of the flower.

You don’t need to outline every petal. Instead, think of these little brushstrokes as suggestions of shadows and overlapping petals.

For flowers that appear to be sitting behind another flower, I’ll add a little more of the darker purple to help distinguish the layers.

A little contrast goes a long way! You don’t need to add dark details everywhere to make your flowers look dimensional.

Also, make sure your brush isn’t carrying too much water. Ideally, you want a brush loaded with more paint than water so that your darker details don’t spread too much.

One trick I like to use when my brush feels too wet is to gently touch the belly of the brush against a paper towel.

Notice that I’m not touching the tip of the brush. The belly holds quite a bit of water, so touching that portion to the paper towel helps remove some of the excess moisture while leaving more of the concentrated pigment near the tip.

This gives me better control over those smaller details.

Continue adding darker purple accents here and there until you’re happy with the overall appearance of your flowers.

Step 4: Add Details to the Flower Centers

Now that we’ve established the petals, let’s work on the centers!

I’m going back to my Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. I’ll alternate between the two colors to create some variation and warmth.

I’m staying with my Round Size 3 brush, although you can switch to a smaller brush if you’re working on particularly tiny flowers.

For this step, you’ll want to use a slightly more concentrated paint mixture with more paint than water. A drier brush will also give you better control over the little details.

Rather than completely filling in the yellow circles, I’m going to gently dot around the edges using Burnt Sienna.

Think of these little dots as the tiny details that give the flower centers their texture.

Remember, less is more! Start with just a few dots at a time. They don’t all have to be evenly spaced, and they certainly don’t all have to face the same direction.

Once I’ve added some Burnt Sienna, I’ll go back in with Burnt Umber to introduce some darker brown accents.

I like to concentrate some of these darker dots on one side of the flower center rather than distributing them evenly all the way around. This creates a little more visual interest and helps suggest dimension.

You can also add another light wash of Burnt Umber over portions of the centers to make them a little warmer and richer.

Just be sure to leave some of the lighter yellow showing through!

The goal isn’t to cover everything with brown. We still want that beautiful golden color to peek through underneath all those little details.

Step 5: Add the Final Dark Purple Accents

We’re almost finished!

For the very last step, I’m switching to a much smaller Princeton Neptune Round Size 0 brush.

I’m going to use the same Permanent Violet, but this time with a very concentrated mixture. I want my brush to be as dry as possible so that I can create some really fine, controlled details.

Look at the areas where you’ve already added the darkest brown accents to your flower centers. Those are the same areas where I’m going to concentrate some of this darkest purple.

I’m adding just a few tiny strokes right where the petals meet the centers.

These little touches of dark purple help tie everything together and create even more dimension between the petals and the flower centers.

Again, you don’t need to overdo it! Add a little bit, take a step back, and see how everything looks before deciding whether you need more.

Sometimes it’s tempting to keep adding details because we want to make our paintings look more finished. But it’s important to recognize when you’ve added enough.

I love the value contrast that has developed throughout the painting. We have those beautiful light purple petals, darker purple accents, warm yellow centers, and little touches of brown that bring everything together.

And there you have it! Beautiful purple fall asters!

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed painting these watercolor purple asters with me!

One of the things I love about this particular floral is how you can create so much dimension using just a handful of colors and a few simple brushstrokes. You don’t need to paint every single petal or add intricate details to make your flowers recognizable.

Instead, it’s all about using different values, allowing some petals to overlap, and being intentional about where you place your darker colors.

I also hope this tutorial encourages you to experiment with colors that you might not traditionally associate with a particular season. We often think of autumn as a time for warm reds, oranges, and yellows, but I love how a little bit of purple can brighten up an otherwise warm fall color palette.

And remember, don’t get too caught up in making every petal perfect! Let your brushstrokes be loose, embrace those little imperfections, and enjoy the process of painting.

Watercolor Purple Asters Tutorial Video

If you give these purple asters a try, I’d love to see what you create! Be sure to tag me @audreyradesign on social media and use the hashtag #paintwithaudrey so I can find your work.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, give this post a like, and share it with someone who loves watercolor, the color purple, or flowers in general.