Painting Leaves

One watercolor technique for painting leaves is to lay a yellow wash then, either while the paint is still wet or dry, paint over the yellow wash with a blue. Here, after sketching out this tea olive branch, I painted a deep wash of Gamboge Yellow. Don't forget to leave any white you made need. I left some for the tiny blooms at the top of the branch.

After drying, I put on the next layer---a mixture of Phthalo blue, Ultramarine Blue, and Prussian Blue---letting the colors run and mix together. While still wet I used a sharp instrument to make the veining.

A botanical study of Osmanthus frangrans. You can see the finished piece in the next issue of Newnan Coweta Magazine!