Saturday, June 23, 2012

LEAF JOURNAL DRAWINGS 2

Returning again to the leaf journal, I did a combination of things for the elm leaf.  I did a rubbing, watercolored it, and added line work to bring out all of its interesting features.  I think that it is the most interesting of all of the leaves, and I remember working on it at the picnic table in front of the cabin, enjoying the cool breeze and a cup of hot tea!

The pin oak was fun, as I simply lay the leaf onto the paper and used a toothbrush to flick several colors of paint across it, making it a stencil.  The painting got rather out of hand, as all of us were enjoying the process to the point of flinging the paint on each other...rather a bonding moment! 

The dogwood leaves were painted with thickened watercolor, and then pressed onto the paper.  It is a real challenge getting just the right amount of paint, so that it highlighted the veins and outlines of the leaves.  You can paint your interpretation of a leaf in a painting, but the real thing is amazing to see!

And finally, the post oak.  We scrounged a can of spray paint from the owner of the cabins, and chose leaves with a lot of chewed out holes and character for this stencil option.  The real challenge? getting the leaf to stay in one place when we directed the spray at it!  I am so pleased that I kept this old journal.  Memories came flooding back, of good times and wonderful women.  The experience has helped to make me the artist I am today.

2 comments:

Leah Elizabeth said...

I like the first one. I always wanted to do this with flowers. So many beautiful colors out there.

Rose Altom said...

I love to do nature rubbings, and then get in there with paint, pen, or pencil and really embellish, fill in the gaps, and create. The first one is my favorite, also, and the one that I played with.