Some weeks ago - but it could also have been this afternoon - my husband and I were walking close to home and we passed by a bush that had not seen the sun yet. The tips of many leaves were still white with frost which contrasted beautifully with the dark green of the leaves. Of course I made some reference pictures and today I wanted to paint these leaves.
For the watercolour painting I selected a small size paper (hoping to finish the painting before it got too dark, the days are really short now) and made my composition drawing with a watercolour pencil, so I would not have to erase the pencil lines after I had finished painting.
The background - which was made up with more of the same kind of leaves - was painted first using a blue and a yellow to mix some shades of green. After that I mixed more shades of green using a different blue and another yellow. This was used for the leaves I wanted to stand out, but I also mixed win the colours used in the background, so a lot of greens were made with two blues and two yellows.
Leaving the frosted edges completely white was not right here. so I let the shades of the leaves flow into the paler areas, taking care that only a hint of the colour of the leaf was visible on the paper. In this way I suggested the frosted edges and also some light falling on the waxy leaves.
Painting a scene like this was new for me, but I really liked the challenge I set myself. The result is what I hoped for.
The information about the materials I have used, the size of this watercolour painting and its availability can all be found in my Tumblr blog.
Please contact me if you are interested in my work.
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