Emerald Leaves

 

This painting is 11 by 14 inches, fluid acrylics on vellum illustration board.  In this post, I will discuss my process and technique.  

Drawing:  I always do a very tight drawing with a 2H pencil.  I usually find that the longer I spend on the line art, the easier my painting will be.  With this painting, I decided that I would not only use black ink for some of the lines, but I would also fill in large areas of black as well.  These large areas of black end up not being completely black since I will also paint on top of them with various washes.  All of the paint is transparent, so all the layers interact with each other including areas with solid black ink.  I did not ink any of the lines on the leaves since I wanted the painting to be softer around the subject.

Background First:  I always paint background to foreground and in the case of this particular painting, I painted dark to light as well.  I started with a desaturated blue green first and then worked my way to a more yellowish green.  I mixed a neutral brownish violet color for the areas that appear more brown or grey.  I like to take my background to a finished state before moving on to the subject.  A finished background will better inform you on how light or how dark you need to paint your subject.  If you paint your subject first, your eyes only have a bright white paper to compare to so any paint you put down will appear darker than it really is.  

Painting the Subject:  When I am content with my background, I start painting the subject.  For this painting, I used a desaturated yellow green to do an underpainting first.  This establishes most of the hard edges that I can see.  After I finish the underpainting, I start throwing down washes of pure color.  For this painting, I added yellow green followed by green washes of pure color.  When you throw down washes of color, it will often times flatten your painting so the next step I did was to reestablish the hard edges and to darken other areas.  I then used pure green gold around the center of the leaves to draw in the viewer more.  Overall, I feel the results were successful.

 

A detailed process for a lily painting

 

In this post, I will discuss the process, techniques and materials I used for my most recent acrylic painting.

Supplies

 Paper:  Vellum bristol board, vellum illustration board and cold-press watercolor paper are all good surfaces to work on using acrylics.  Bristol board is a little cheaper and thinner than illustration board but the surface is similar.  Illustration board is nice and thick so it will not warp as easily as the other two paper surfaces although it is a little more expensive.  A pad of vellum bristol is one of the most affordable options if you are on a tight budget.

 

Paint:  Most acrylic paints can be used since they all can be watered down to form an inkwash.  I like using golden fluid acrylics but other brands such as blick and liquitex are both suitable.  Golden fluid acrylics are generally more expensive but their quality is superior.  A four fluid ounce tube of golden fluid acrylics can last you years especially since we are watering it down into an inkwash.  The image below is a picture of the colors I used for my painting.

Brushes:  I would not spend too much money on brushes.  They are disposable and acrylics will eventually destroy them over time.  However, we will be using acrylics as a wash, which will make it easier on the brushes and they will last longer.  Because we are using acrylics like watercolors, you will want to use brushes that are softer.  Stiff brushes used for thicker media are not ideal.  You can buy a pack of cheap rounds and that will work fine for the technique we will be using.  For my latest painting, I only used one brush – a 12 long round princeton velvetouch.

 

Drawing Materials:  There will be a little bit of drawing needed.  It is best to use a pencil with a harder lead such as an H or 2H.  Pencils with harder lead won’t leave as much graphite on the paper which can muddy the colors.  A kneaded eraser can be rolled over your pencils when you are done drawing which will pick up excess graphite and lighten your line work.  If you want to ink your drawing before painting, I recommend using pitt pens or microns.

Palettes:  Use a palette that can hold liquid media.  There are cheap plastic palettes that are great for this type of painting.

 

Water Container:  Any large plastic container can be used.  I like using one that is on the larger side so I don’t have to get clean water all the time.

 Paper Towel:  This is important for controlling the amount of water in your brush.  A brush loaded up with too much water can cause blooms and hard edges.  By dabbing the brush on the paper towel, you can remove excess water to prevent this. 

 

Blue Painters Tape:  This is used mostly for holding down the paper to minimize warping.  Thinner bristol board and watercolor paper will be more prone to warping than illustration board.  You can buy a roll of blue painters tape at home depot or lowes.

 

Scrap Paper:  Save your scrap bristol or paper!  This can be used as a palette for testing your colors before you use them on your painting.  You can use almost any paper surface for scrap including copy paper if you must.

 Rulers:  A long metal ruler is useful for cutting and trimming your paper to the desired size.  It is also needed to add a grid to your reference photo and surface you are painting on if you decide to use a grid method for the drawing stage.

Color Wheel:  This is a must have for any artist!  I always use one whenever I am planning an illustration or painting.  They are relatively cheap and can be found in most arts and crafts stores. 

 

For my lily painting, I made sure to select analogous colors from one section of the color wheel ranging from orange, yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green and green.  I also selected the complement color from across the color wheel which is purple.

 

Normally when thinking about color theory, I have always saturated one or two colors for a composition.  In the case of this lily painting, yellow is the most saturated followed by yellow-green.  Generally, you want to keep the most saturated colors and highest contrast on the subject of the painting.

Process and Technique

Reference Photo:  I took a lot of pictures of plants at a garden I visited and used them as reference.  If you are using someone else’s photo, you need to get permission first unless they state otherwise.  I like to crop my photo to get the desired composition.  I then place a grid over the photo using a pen and ruler so I can get a more accurate drawing.  Some artists prefer to use transfer paper but use the process that is more comfortable for you.  With a grid method, be sure to draw the grid very lightly on the surface you will be painting on.  If you press too hard, it can dent the paper and it will be more difficult to erase the grid once your drawing is complete.

Line Art:  I like to draw with a 2H pencil because it leaves less graphite on the paper and doesn’t smudge as easily.  I will use pitt pens after I have penciled everything but only on areas that I know will have hard edges.  Areas that appear soft, I will only pencil.  Areas that appear very soft and blurry, I won’t pencil at all and simply rely on painting. Generally, the more time you spend on the line art, the easier your painting will be.  Line art is a guide for your painting, nothing more.

 

Painting:  When you begin a painting, it is best to work background to foreground.  In the case of this particular lily painting, I also worked dark to light.  It is best to work on areas that have hard edges first before moving on to the softer, more blurry areas.  For the lily painting, since the background is mostly yellow-green, I used a combination of green gold, permanent green light and dioxazine purple.  I painted the darker areas and edges first and got progressively lighter from there. 

After I have established the edges I can see in the background, then I start glazing a little more saturated color on top.  When I am satisfied with the leaves, I move onto the water which is almost all soft and blurry.  When painting something very soft like water, I will use a wet-on-wet technique to prevent hard edges from forming.  This is done by first painting with water on the surface of the paper.  You do not want the water to “pool” on the surface, rather you want a flat “sheen” of water on the paper before you apply paint.  A pool of water can create blooms and edges which is what we want to avoid.

It is best to take the background to a finished state before moving on to the subject of your painting.  You can always tighten things up and darken elements in your background later.  In the case of this lily, the background is dark but the lily is light so it is important to water-down our paints even more so we do not paint too dark.  I used a combination of permanent violet dark and primary yellow for the underpainting on both flowers.  The flower in the background is soft and blurry so I made sure to soften the edges as best as I could.

I painted most of the hard and soft edges I could find on the main flower before adding the most pure, saturated color in the middle.  I used primary yellow and hansa yellow medium for the center of the flower.

For finishing up the painting, I like to look at it from a distance or hold it up to a mirror.  This lets me spot areas that need to go darker or need more rendering.  When I feel I am finished, then I take off the painters tape and get the painting scanned for my portfolio.

 

Every painting is different, so the process might vary depending on the overall design and composition.  But with every painting, your technique will continue to improve.  With each painting, I learn more and more.  I have conditioned myself to understand how to use the right amount of paint and water when I do a painting.  A lot of learning as an artist is done that way – with repetition and practice.