Painting is among the beautiful pastime that anyone could ever get themselves engaged to. You may use your microwave that was bought from https://www.ponfish.com/top-best-countertop-microwaves-for-seniors/ as a subject, your grandparents and virtually everything you could ever think of. However, one of the challenging subjects you might touch your hands on is leaves.
It is essential that you look at it closely to be able to have better understanding of its textures and structure. Otherwise, it would go unnoticed. When planning to paint leaves, always remember that they’re not simply outlines in green. Start with close observation on the different kinds of leaves and then, start painting it.
Assuming that you are using oil for painting, then here are handful of tips that can be very useful, especially if you are a newbie.
Be a Great Observer
The very first thing to remember when painting leaves is by observing the different kinds of leaves. Go to gardens, nature trails and parks and look closely at the different shapes and types of leaves. With this, it’s going to help you realize that there’s more to a leaf. From your observation, choose one that you prefer painting.
Since you’re just starting in painting, don’t expect to get everything flawless. It is ideal to draw the leaf on paper or canvas before you even begin painting. After having a structure, then you may draw some ridges and the dividing lines to have guidance throughout coloring process.
This is Nature
The fact that leaves are part of nature, it is best that you maintain the concepts clear. Simply speaking, there’s no outline. Thus, doing a light outline for your leaf with darker shade of green often works. As what most artists use, viridian green frequently gets the job done.
Fill the leaves with either sap green or lime green as this color is usually the closest to your model’s original color. In this phase, there’s actually no rule and artists can fully integrate their imagination to get into the closest green of their model. Another important thing to remember when using oil paints for painting is, after painting the leaves, let it sit for minutes and observe for the outcome. Because all too often, fresh oil painted leaves look bright but not create the same effects when it dries.