Before You Begin

Bonjour and welcome to your little painting moment. ✨

Melle Fraise is sweet, juicy and full of joyful colour. In this tutorial, you’ll begin with a light Yellow foundation before gradually adding Green, Magenta and Blue.

The Yellow layer will create warmth and allow tiny golden highlights to remain visible around the seeds. By building your colours slowly, you’ll create contrast, dimension and a strawberry that looks good enough to eat.

Take your time, let the colours flow and most importantly… have fun.

No pressure. No perfection. Just flow.

Step 1: Activate Your Paint

Activate your colours with water and create your “juice.”

Prepare enough colour on your mixing plate before you begin. Your first mixtures should be light, fluid and transparent.

Step 2: The First Layer. Light and Juicy

Paint the entire strawberry with a light, juicy wash of Yellow.

Keep this first layer soft and transparent. This Yellow foundation will create warmth beneath the Magenta and become the little highlights around the strawberry seeds.

Allow the layer to dry before continuing.

Step 3: From Yellow to Green

Before adding Green, check that the Yellow layer is dry.

If the paper is still shiny, it is still wet. When the shine disappears and the surface looks matte, the paper is dry or only slightly damp.

Paint the leaves and stem with a light Green wash. Keep the first layer fresh and allow some areas to remain lighter.

Let the Green settle and dry before painting the strawberry.

Step 4: Painting Around the Seeds

Using a light Magenta mixture, begin painting around each seed.

Leave a small amount of the Yellow layer visible around the seeds.

This is why we painted the entire strawberry Yellow first, it gives the seeds a warm glow without having to paint every tiny shape individually.

Work slowly and pay attention to the amount of water in your brush.

This is a mindful step. There is no need to rush.

Step 5: Building Contrast and Highlights

Once the first Magenta layer is dry, return with a stronger mixture containing more pigment.

Add deeper Magenta to create contrast while preserving the lighter areas and Yellow highlights.

Build the colour gradually. Watercolour is most beautiful when some of the earlier layers remain visible.

Step 6: Details Are Everything

Add Blue to create a soft shadow and give the strawberry more dimension.

Mix a small amount of Magenta and Blue to create the darker shadows around selected seeds. You do not need to darken every seed—just enough to suggest texture and depth.

Use the tip of your brush for the smallest marks.

Step 7: Final Touches

Take a moment to look at your painting before adding anything else.

Strengthen a few shadows, deepen selected areas of Magenta and add small details where they are needed.

Avoid covering all your lighter layers. The contrast between light and dark is what makes Melle Fraise look juicy and three-dimensional.

Then stop, step back and say…

Et Voilà! a little taste of summer, painted by you. 🍓