Member Carol Gordon led this month’s workshop all about illustrating contoured and bumpy leaves. The aim was to test out various techniques in both pencil and watercolour to give a sense of drama to our paintings. Firstly we shone lights on our leaves so we could better see how the little ‘mounds’ appeared. Too bright a light bleaches out the detail and the shadows. Photographs helped to show the contours and structure.
Starting with pencil we drew a small portion of a Polyanthus or cabbage leaf and carefully observed the tone to show the contours and structure. Colour was then added over the top of pencil drawings. After lunch, we used pure watercolour in thin layers to create the lumps and bumps and the ‘dry-brush’ method to deepen the shadows in the tiny leaf crevices. Carol demonstrated each stage of the process and we went home with lots of information and some lovely work. Thank you Carol!
Those members not participating in the workshop worked in an adjacent room to work on their own paintings and projects.
