Painting a Tropical Daydream in Watercolour Quick painting tips for beginners - World Watercolour Month

Himani Khimji
Jul 15
2 min read

Banana leaves, bird-of-paradise, sunrise skies — and how it all came together.

You know that feeling when you hear the word “tropical”? For me, it's banana leaves waving in the breeze, birds-of-paradise bursting with colour, and a sky so bright you can almost hear the sea. That daydream became this week’s painting. 🌴

I filmed the whole process on my insgram reel — and below, I’ll walk you through it step by step, with a few behind-the-scenes thoughts and “even better ifs” along the way.

Step 1: Light Sketching

Start with a pencil sketch — very light lines that act as guides. Focus on the shapes of the leaves and the way they layer. The goal is suggestion, not detail.

Tip: Don’t worry if it’s not perfect.

Start with a pencil sketch — very light lines that act as guides. Focus on the shapes of the leaves and the way they layer. The goal is suggestion, not detail.

Tip: Don’t worry if it’s not perfect.

Step 2: Painting the Leaves

I used a mix of light and deep greens, letting the water do some of the blending work. The key here is shadow and direction — veins that run through the leaf should curve gently, like they do in nature.

notice the veins on the leaf and add details

Even better if:

You follow the direction of the arrow, to show a natural fall, light in shadow and the details in parallel lines arching in the same direction (picture below).

Step 3: Blue Sky, Rocks, and Sea

Once the foliage dries, add a soft wash of sky — I went with a bright blue with gradient transitions. Then some rocky edges to frame the composition, and a body of water with white highlights left intentionally unpainted.

Step 4: The Sunrise Sun

Final Thoughts

It’s one of those paintings that started from a simple daydream and turned into something so vivid, I could almost hear the waves. Painting tropical scenes always reminds me to play — with colour, with water, with imagination.

While this was a quick one - I can't wait to make a better version of this.

Time taken, approximately 20 minutes.

I’d love to know — what’s the first image you think of when you hear “tropical”? Leave a comment below or DM me a sketch!

More painting prompts, tutorials, and sketchbook stories coming soon — so feel free to bookmark or explore other blog posts here.

Here is an advanced version of something similar, but in signature Himani nu style ------->

View the reel on my gram: https://www.instagram.com/himaninuartanddesign?igsh=MmQ1MnE4aGozZms%3D&utm_source=qr

Thnaks for being here :)

Himani