Branches and Leaves

"Branches and Leaves," acrylic on 8 x 8 canvas

"How the Almighty had made the earth
a gleaming plain girdled with waters;
in His splendour He set the sun and the moon
to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men,
and filled the broad lap of the world
with branches and leaves; and quickened life
in every other thing that moved."  - Beowulf

I always spend a lot of time planning and thinking about any art project before I begin to work.  My main goal in this painting, however, was to put aside all of the planning and thinking and just create.  My inspiration started with the first leaves of fall:

 

Given that Texas does not typically acknowledge autumn until closer to Christmastime, these leaves were a surprise.  I used the colors of the leaves to paint a background.

I added a bright moon, then collaged the actual leaves on top and added more glaze, still drawing from the leaves' colors.  I found some branches on my way to painting class, and decided to paint the branches into the painting.  I used some modeling paste to give one of the branches a more 3-D effect.  I made them gray for a cool contrast effect.  I added quite a few coats of high gloss varnish along the way, mainly to preserve my organic leaves. 

I added a third branch in and painted metallic colors over the leaves.  By this point, the leaves were so glossy and slippery that it was difficult to get the paint to take.  At last, I managed!

As my painting came together, I found myself mainly concerned with balance, especially as I decided to go with an even number of objects. I feel like the painting is well balanced, despite that even number.  Next, I determined the correct orientation of my painting.

Lastly, I added a coat of poly-resin to create a glass-like finish, and also to preserve my organic leaves for the life of the painting. 

Bluebrush

"Bluebrush," 8 x 8 mixed media with acrylic and pastel on 140 lb watercolor paper

This is a project started with a trip to Ennis this past April.  I was especially drawn to the Indian Paintbrush, mixed in with all the Texas Bluebonnets.

I took this photo of an Indian Paintbrush:

I cropped the photo, emphasizing the flower's opening as a focal point:

 

I was most interested in the organic shapes within the flower, and I thought diagonal direction of the image would accentuate the focal point.  I sketched the flower with charcoal directly onto an 8 x 8 canvas and completed an ultramarine blue under painting using acrylic paints.   

My intention was to glaze the under painting and create a realistic, colorful image.  After many layers of glaze, I realized this project was not going to work.  Maybe I was too impatient.  The colors were not doing what I wanted them to do, and I regretted painting over my beautiful blue under painting.  I had already scanned the under painting, and so I printed my image onto 140 lb watercolor paper.  I then went over it with PanPastels, giving it a soft, velvety effect.  I ultimately made the choice to emphasize the blues and purples of the surrounding Bluebonnets instead of the peaches and pinks of the Indian Paintbrush.  My final product is almost monochromatic, with violet and magenta dabbed in for a bit of whimsy. While abstract colors are used, the flower itself maintains its soft texture within the final painting.