Welcome to this step-by-step guide for creating your own easy daisy flower painting using acrylics and mixed-media painting! In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to build rich texture, capture a sunlit glow with playful bokeh, and finish with impasto daisies that pop off the page.
Whether you’re a complete beginner or looking to refresh your practice, this project will help you infuse your work with optimism, resilience, and joy.
So let’s get started learning to paint an easy daisy.
Watch it
If you’d like a full, narrated demo—layer by layer—plus extra mixed-media techniques and troubleshooting tips, check out my Easy Daisy Flower Painting class on Udemy. Enroll now and let’s bloom together!
Thank you!
Materials You’ll Need
Support & Adhesives
Wood panel or heavy mixed-media paper or watercolor paper
Matte medium or gel medium or pva glue
Collage Elements
Old book pages (torn into various sizes)
Paints & Tools
Acrylic paints: olive green, dark olive, light olive, cadmium yellow, burnt sienna, unbleached titanium white
Palette knife
Brayer
Round brush (size 6–8)
Glue-stick cap & lip balm tube (for bokeh stamping)
Optional Mixed-Media Add-Ons
Modeling paste + simple stencil (for raised patterns)
Small bits of tissue paper or fabric scraps
Metallic leaf or mica powder
Step-by-Step Process
1. Build Your Textured Base
Apply matte medium over your panel.
Tear and collage old book pages, smoothing edges so the paper adheres flat.
Allow to dry completely.
2. Lay Down Grungy Greens
- Load your palette knife with olive green, dark olive, light olive, and a hint of cadmium yellow.
- Scrape and smear in a rough, irregular pattern—this creates organic depth for your foliage.
3. Roll for Sunlit Glow
Spread unbleached titanium white and a dab of yellow on your brayer.
Roll gently over the center area of your panel to soften the greens and suggest a luminous focal zone.
4. Stamp Bokeh Highlights
Dip the back of a glue-stick cap into white paint; stamp large circles across your background.
Use the end of a lip balm tube dipped in pale yellow to add smaller, secondary dots.
Space them randomly so they feel like drifting light orbs.
5. Impasto Daisy Petals
With a round brush or palette knife loaded with thick white acrylic, paint each petal in a single stroke.
Press firmly so the paint stands proud from the surface, giving you that classic impasto texture.
6. Stipple the Centers
- Mix burnt sienna and cadmium yellow.
- Use the tip of your brush to stipple small, irregular dots in the heart of each daisy, capturing that tactile flower center.
7. Add Additional Blooms
Vary size and placement by repeating steps 5–6 to paint two or three daisies, creating a dynamic composition.
Tips & Tricks for an Easy Daisy Flower Painting
Vary Your Textures: Combine modeling paste stenciling under gesso with tissue-paper overlays for hidden surprises under your paint.
Natural Accents: Press tiny dried petals or leaves into the still-wet matte medium for authentic botanical texture.
Metallic Touches: Gently apply gold or bronze leaf to the edges of your bokeh circles to catch real sunlight.
Ink & Stitching: Add fine India-ink scribbles or hand-stitched threads for graphic contrast and extra tactile interest.
Mixed Media Artist Resource Library
Free printables, collage papers, creative prompts & how-to guides
I’ve put together a free resource library designed just for you, packed with everything you need to fuel your creativity. It’s my way of giving back to the mixed media community with resources to inspire your next project. Click here to join.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can I use watercolor paper instead of a wood panel?
Yes, but choose heavy, cold-press mixed-media paper (minimum 300gsm) and reinforce the back with cardboard or a sturdy board to prevent warping.
Q2: My bokeh stamps look too uniform. How can I vary them?
Use multiple circular objects (bottle caps, the end of a roll of tape) and alternate between paint thicknesses. Lightly tap off excess paint to get softer edges.
Q3: How do I avoid paint cracking in impasto areas?
Apply thin “underglayers” of acrylic before the impasto. This gradation in thickness helps the paint dry more evenly and reduces cracking risk.
Q4: What if I don’t have a brayer?
You can achieve a similar effect with a wide, soft foam roller or by dragging a large, flat brush loaded with diluted white/yellow paint across the canvas.
Conclusion
Congratulations—you’ve just created your own easy daisy flower masterpiece! This mixed-media approach layers history (book pages), texture (knife, stencils, collage), and light (bokeh stamping) beneath bold impasto blooms.
If you’re craving more guided instruction, project variations, and deeper mixed-media explorations, don’t forget to enroll in my Udemy class. Happy painting—and may your creative spirit continue to blossom!
