LEAVES
by Penny Nangle

Leaves and Berries


We all seem to struggle with painting in our leaves, and leaf shapes. This simple leaf study gives you some basic strokes in making a leaf, and leaving major highlights.
How you apply your paint from your brush to the china will make a big difference in how much highlight you can keep on your leaves.
Practice side loading your thumb side of your brush, by placing half of your brush on your paint with a C stroke motion, working the paint into half of your brush.

Now you are ready to place your brush down flat on the china, (See Study) and pulling brush flat to the vein line, and lift. The second stroke is half the distance of the first, the third stroke is again half that distance. You now have three strokes that look like stair steps.
The other side of the leaf:Repeat the stair steps, only this time you'll start at the vein line, and pull brush flat to the outside of the leaf and lift.

Leaf Tip: (See Study) Side load with color, and place your brush flat in a diagonal position just above the tip end , and make a large comma stroke. This will make your leaf tip automatically. Now, you just pull from the inside edge of your leaf out to form the size of the leaf you want......Fat, thin, etc. It seems to look better if you do not pull your center vein line of your leaf way to the end of your leaf tip, otherwise it makes your leaf look cut in half. To finish off the smooth look on your leaf you feather lightly the opposite way of your original strokes.
Added highlights can be wiped out in the leaves (see study) by wiping out windows with a wipe out too, or silk on the end of your finger, smooth it again with your brush.

Holly leaves:

Make your strokes the same as a regular leaf, and just make your strokes a little longer. Then use your wipe-out tool to wipe out the curved in areas on the outside of the holly leaf. Wipe out the vein lines or paint them in either way is alright.

Red Holly Berries:

The berry that is on top is the first berry to paint. Side load with a yellow red color, and place your color only half way around the circle. (See study) Side load again with yellow red, and place color right behind the other circles around the main one on top. This will make the other berries look like they are behind the main one. Wipe out a highlight. You can paint in a black dot in different spots on your red berries on the last fire. (I forgot to show that.)

Snow Berries:

Use the same painting procedure as the Holly Berries, just use a Blue green, or Chartreuse color instead. Leave a lot of highlight.

Hope you have a fun time painting leaves and berries now .....Penny Nangle

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