Quercus alba - stage four

Now we are getting to my favorite part of the whole process.  The finishing touches.  This stage is called 'Harmony and Interchange'.  Doesn't that just sound pretty?  In nature, there are bridges of color that connect the leaf, stem, flower and berry of the same plant.  What I mean is, you'd never see a pure red berry stuck on a straight brown stem next to a flat green leaf.  If you look closely, you will see tinges of green in that red berry, and the red color somehow carried through the stem and leaf.  It is very subtle, but it is there, and it makes the plant look, well, like it all goes together.  Harmony and interchange -- it is exactly what it sounds like.  You take a light wash of your stem color, for example, and repeat it through the leaf or nut or seed.  If there is a bold seed or flower color, you subtly refer to it in the leaf or stem.  This is to exaggerate the interchange of color, but to the eye, it will make the subject look more natural.  Here in our Quercus alba, I have repeated the apple green of the acorns in the stem and veining of the leaves, for example.  There are touches of reddish brown in the stems and acorns.  There is even a very light wash of the green leaf color over the stem.  The overall effect is very nice -- it looks fresh and bold and alive, just as it would waving in the breeze on a clear summer's day.