Transparency

I want to say a little more about transparency.  Transparency versus Mud.  When you mix too many colors together, or when you mix colors that are not of the same 'temperature' (cool or warm), you get Mud.  It isn't a particular color and it isn't a particular thickness of paint.  But you know it when you see it.  The pigment just sits there dead as can be in a blob on your paper.  No depth, no brilliance, no light, no life.  If you are painting an object that isn't living, you may not mind this effect.  But to a botanical artist, this is a Bad Situation. 

What you want is Transparency.  A few thin washes of compatible colors, and voila!  It is like spontaneous generation right there on your paper.  The thing you are painting comes to life before your very eyes.  What happens is those thin transparent layers just lay on top of the paper, and mingle a little with the paper's 'tooth' (surface texture).  Light can still pass through the pigment.  To me it looks like the subtle texture of the paper actually becomes part of the painting, like the surface of a leaf.  It is almost creepy to see a lifelike leaf start to emerge from the paper.  I think of Michelangelo, who said his role as a sculptor is to release the sculpture from the block of stone it's trapped in.  So I'm uncovering a beautiful oak branch, trapped inside the white paper!  This is what happens to my mind as I sit for hours staring at my painting....

Green

I really do love the color green.  Depending on the shade, it can be refreshing, calming, healing, expansive . . .alive! In watercolor painting, the trick of mixing a good green is to use colors with the same 'temperature', meaning you use either all cool colors or all warm colors, not some of both.  If you mix a warm yellow with a cool blue, the outcome will be muddy.  And muddy color can be a disaster, because part of the magic of watercolor is the transparency, allowing the white of the paper to shine through.

These oak leaves are a very cool, bluish green.  So my leaf formula is veridian green (a dark, cool green) mixed with a tiny bit of indian red (which is more brown than red), and to add brightness, a bit of cool lemon yellow.  Later I'll paint shaddows and dark areas with a wash of permanent rose mixed with ultramarine blue.  Another cardinal rule of color mixing is not to use too many different colors.  You keep it as simple as you can to avoid the dreaded Mud Situation.  So I have to watch it . . . sometimes I get carried away!

Some artists get their desired colors by applying very thin washes of color straight from the tubes.  A blue wash over a yellow wash will look green, for example.  You have to be really patient and meticulous, keeping your brush clean and waiting until each layer dries before applying the next layer.  You also have to have an exceptional knowledge of color theory because you are mixing your colors essentially right on your painting -- risky business if you ask me!  As you can see from my palette, I mix my colors first on the paint tray, often testing them on spare strips of paper before I apply paint to the painting.  It gives me more of a sense that I'm in control of the situation.

I'm still working on the form of the leaves.  They don't yet look alive, but they do look like leaves!  so far I am pleased with how it is coming along...

Form

And now we arrive at the second stage: Form.  It is the easiest to describe but it takes the longest to do.  Basically, I paint the form of each leaf (and acorn) showing the the lights and darks, giving the subject three dimensions.  In botanical work, the light source is always from the upper left, as if the sun is shining on the subject over the artist's left shoulder.   To me, this stage is nerve-wracking.  I am constantly nervous that I'll mess up.  It isn't until I get the form right for every element of the painting that I will relax and enjoy the remaining three stages of work. 

You may think this leaf doesn't look very natural, and you are right.  The veins are too pronounced and the color is too monotone.  It looks like a plastic leaf, in my opinion.  But just you wait!  Once we work on the veins and the subtleties of shading, it will look like a real live oak leaf.  This is all I'm going to do on this leaf for now.  Time to bring the other leaves up to this stage...

My favorite oak tree quote

There are two ways of getting to the top of an oak tree . . .
one is to climb,
the other is to sit on an acorn
and wait.

Haycorns

My kids, when they were small, called acorns 'haycorns' thanks to Winnie the Pooh, which I thought was delightful.  I keep this in mind as I begin to paint them.  When looking at the Whole Painting, and wondering where to start, I find the best approach is to begin painting the thing that is the most difficult or important.  Just get it done so it isn't hanging over me in a worrying sort of way.  Since the acorns in this painting are really the focal point, and also quite tricky, I'll begin here.  I won't paint them completely, just the basic form and shape and the first few layers of color.  Just enough to squelch the fear that I can't do it, but not too much to affect the balance of the painting.  It is important to try to build the whole painting in stages, rather than finish every little square inch as you go along.  I'll talk more about this later.  For now, enjoy the haycorns, as they take shape on the paper!

Moving right along . . .

I just finished the tea wash stage and thought you'd like to take a peek.  Tough to make out everything, but that is the point.  It is just enough pigment so I can tell what is 'leaf' and what is 'not leaf' as I go back in to paint the form of my subject. 

Happy Father's Day!!

This one's for my dad, who loves his trees.  There's an enormous Magnolia Grandifolia just next to their house which is now flowering.  Big, soft, creamy white blossoms against that sharp, shiny dark green.  The flower blooms so fleetingly - just for a day - and gives off such a heady perfume.  I wanted to capture the moment before it had passed.   Take notice before it is gone.  Enjoy!