Exercise 1 - The Essential Technique + Colors For Golden Foliage
IN THIS LESSON
Practice creating foliage as a mass shape rather than individual leaves. This quick exercise shows the essential technique
GET THE BEST FROM THIS EXERCISE
Draw The Scene On Your Paper With Light Pencil Lines
Squeeze Fresh Color Onto The Palette
Use Your LARGEST Brushes For Most Of The Painting
Use PLENTY Of Water In Both Large Washes And Small Shapes
Ignore Your Current Habits And Impulses
Keys To Success
These tips will help you accomplish this exercise with ideas to help you at critical points in the painting.
Tip 1
Use all the surfaces of the brush, especially the side edge, corner, and body. Twist and turn the brush as you move it over the paper.
Avoid leaving shapes that look too square or geometric.
Tip 2
Rough in the mass shape. Make sure it is not symmetrical, but off-centered and a bit un-even.
Rough edges around the outer contours of the shape simulate the look of individual leaves - encourage these by dragging the brush lightly over the surface.
Tip 3
Although there is little value difference, the warmer tone of Cadmium Yellow looks like shadowed foliage ‘glowing’ with light transmitted through the much more translucent leaves of autumn.
Add the warmer color in areas that are consistent with the direction of light - up and left - meaning shadow areas are more likely found down and right.
Tip 1
The initial wash should still be wet at this point. If not, the shadow color will not blend well.
Although smaller, the shadow shapes are also mass shapes. Use the same brush techniques for these areas.