COLEUS: SKETCH AND NOTES

Coleus Sketch and Color notes


Part of my creative process, especially when I am doing sketches that will later be used in a painting, is to make detailed drawings with color notes to remind me what it looked like.  These notes are invaluable, because  you tend to forget those feelings that the color invoked at the time.  It is a little reminder that will round out your painting later.  This was one of many sketches that I did with this foliage plant, and some of the other drawings had copious notes on the more emotional aspects that the colors brought out for me, personally.  I try to write down more specific colors as well, such as Sap Green, Veridian, or Cadmium Light Yellow.  Then I write about the mood of what I have in mind...'use late afternoon golden light to generate a feeling of nostalgia'.  Or 'backlight this area to emphasize the line of the stem'.  You have to use a process that really works for you and doesn't bog you down in too much of the details without the heart that goes into your piece.