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...