Art by Wendy: November 2023

Nov 13, 2023

Use Colour & Shapes to Build your Composition Skills - Painting & Drawing Tips

Do you LOVE the FALL COLOURS?

Colour & Shapes lead to New Inspiration

Sometimes I think Canada is the only country in the world that obsesses with the colour of leaves in the fall. Maybe it's because of the masses of reds and yellows that are everywhere. Or the fact that we have large, dense forests that glow with colour. Or the energy from the sunlight dancing with the colours above our head.

WHATEVER, Canadians do love leaves. . . (Well except when they need to rake them!)

When I am out walking I am often drawn to the leaves. I love the bouquet of colours. Before I know it, my hands are full of leaves by the time I get home.

So, of course I have to do something with them. . . .

I pressed these leaves while they dried, to keep them flat

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*** Further discussion can be found on my YouTube video: How to Take Charge of Colour and Shape.

*** Looking for Online Drawing Lessons? See below for more information.

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I decided to work with Colour and Shapes rather than my usual practice of drawing. First I placed a few of the leave on my page to create an interesting arrangement. ( I didn't overlap any but I think I will try that next time.)

Placed leaves on my page to make an interesting arrangement

When the leaves were in place I traced them.

Tracing means you can quickly get to Colour and Shapes

As you can see I worked at various stages on the same pages. I find it encouraging to move back and forth from drawing to painting. Often interesting things develop, as once one area is completed it is easier to see what more is needed. Remember, this is experimenting so there is no strict order.

I like to move back and forth from drawing, colouring to designing

I used my brush pens, micron pens and watercolour to complete my design. You can use whatever mediums you have on hand. This is also a great time to try some you haven't used before, to test them out.

Brush Pens weren't waterproof, so had to keep that in mind

I decided to experiment with the washi tape. I usually use painter's tape but that can sometimes damage the paper when I lift it. I found the washi tape was quick, gave a nice sharp edge and could be used over and over.

Got nice sharp edges with the Washi Tape

As much as I enjoy the practice I must tell you, THIS is not for the Faint at Heart.

Working with Colour and Shapes can be VERY CHALLENGING. As you work along it becomes challenging to keep things cohesive, interesting and eye catching. I found myself studying my pages, questioning how to move the design forward: Introduce a new colour; add another shape; draw more detail; outline. Challenging.

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Nov 1, 2023

How to turn a GREEN TREE into an interesting colourful, Painting - Painting & Drawing Tips

Here ON the West Coast trees are GREEN. All Summer!! Many of them all winter too.

So how can that be COLOURFUL?!

Part of an Old Garry Oak Tree I found on the Trail

I must admit, I love the trees here on the coast. As a kid I loved to climb them. And of course the forts. Secret Forts, of course. Up in the branches or buried in the bushes. My special place. As an adult I still feel there is just something about being around trees that calms and centers me. I know I am not alone.

However, when it comes time to draw and paint trees everything changes . . . .

Part of a beautiful old Gary Oak Tree I found on the trail

Trees are a Challenge. . .

As a subject they are very complex. And in the summer, they are all GREEN. This makes them even harder to work with.

Over time I have found a few things that have helped me.
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*** Further discussion can be found on my YouTube video: How to turn a Complex Tree into Art

*** Looking for Private Drawing Lessons? See below for more information.

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I did some hiking while on Gabriola Island this summer and came across this big, old Gary Oat Tree. It was certainly a stranger on the island as they are usually only found close to the salt water on the southern part of Vancouver Island. This one had fallen over many years ago and was still thriving. Horizontally rather then Vertically. A real testament of survival.

Look for the branch structure to get your bearings

I was really drawn to the tree and felt I needed to draw it. Because it was so big and I wanted to zoom in on it, I decided to paint only half of the tree. (yes there is way more of the tree on the left side. Remember it is laying down)

The leaves are in clumps.

Using the branches to get the structure and size of the tree I set up my drawing. After that I used a loose line to create the clumps of leaves, trying to keep the tree loose and lively.

The branches give structure to the clumps of leaves

Because of the complexity of the branches I opted to paint the main branches first so I could clump the leaves around them.

Seeing the branches with the clumps helps to set up the drawing

When it came to painting the clumps of leaves I moved around the tree focusing on 3 things:

- 3 colours for the sunny bright areas on the tree (Sorry, I know they are a little hard to see in the reference picture as it is reduced down to such a small size)

- 3 colours for the dark shadowy areas of the branches

- focused on each clump moving from dark to light in value, temperature and colour (so each clump has 6 colour changes)

You'll notice I did the same with the branches and ground in trying to create depth and texture. I like to challenge myself to have at least 3 difference colours in any shape. This ensures I have warm and cold colours as the shape moves from light to dark.

**Special Note: I was also experimenting with using other colours. I decided rather than have white for my white areas, I used a light shade of my turquoise blue. The jury is still out on whether I like it there or not but it does make for interesting colour in the leaves.

Do you have special colours you use to deal with GREEN leaves?

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