Beginner Level

How to Paint: Watercolor Monstera Adansonii

The Monstera Adansonii is one of my favorite houseplants so let’s paint it in watercolor together! Taking care of houseplants is a hobby of mine, and this plant is so easy to propagate. I actually gave a baby plant to a bride-to-be because she wanted to get into houseplants but wanted an easy plant. I also painted a card to accompany the gift and she really appreciated it. So here’s the tutorial! Enjoy!

Supplies:

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Sketch the pot

I’ve been using watercolor pencils more and more to sketch. The advantage is that the pencil lines disappear as you paint. But it can be a little harder to erase. So I only use these for very simple sketches. I used a gray color for the pot and then used my brush and a very watered down black color to paint in the pot.

While that paint layer is still wet, I like to drop in a darker value of the same paint color to darken one side for a little bit of dimension. If you need a refresher on the wet-on-wet technique, check out this post.

Outline and paint the leaves

Choose a few different green hues and begin outline the stem and the leaves. I like to outline the leaf shape first, and then the holes, then paint the middle. Try to keep your paint consistency less watery so that you have more control.

The Monstera Adansonii grows like a vine so have a few leaves on the same stem. As you paint, layer whenever you can as long as the first layer is dry. And paint with different green hues and values.

Paint smaller and shorter leaves in a darker hue as if they were in the shadows of the upper leaves. Also, paint a few leaves that are yet to be unfurled, so they’re more just like a straight line.

Add details to the pot

The pot that I gifted actually had a little bit of gold across the middle of the pot. So I used the FineTec pearlescent watercolors to draw a single horizontal line.

Feel free to add any details you want like scallops, polka dots, stripes, etc.

This step is also optional but I added a faint shadow. You can use a light purplish-green for the shadow. That will help complement the green color of the leaves.

Fill out plant

When everything is dry, I like to take a step back and look at my painting. I look for areas that need a bit more filling. When I fill in, I use a much lighter value of whatever color because I don’t want to take away attention from the main subject. Use this step to your discretion.

And that’s it! Take it one leaf at a time, and before you know it, you have a cute houseplant that you can keep for yourself or gift to a friend!

Watercolor Monstera Adansonii Tutorial – Full video

Thanks so much for painting with me! I’d love to see your watercolor monstera adansonii!

If you use this tutorial, please tag me on social media @AudreyRaDesign and use the hashtag #PaintWithAudrey.

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