Having done my white pencil outline drawing a few days ago:
Today I got out my Pebeo fluid acrylics and proceeded to paint the ginkgo branch.
I set up my table with the two pages lined up and taped down in place. I used the white non-stick craft mat on the right of the media mat as my palette.
Painting the branch.
This proved more difficult than I anticipated! I am not a very good painter, I’m afraid… This isn’t really my thing, but practice makes perfect, and having got my gorgeous “Botanicum” book I was determined to have a go!
Painting the leaf stems.
Beginning to paint the leaves. This took several layers.
Adding the detail.
As usual when am working with paints, I made a scratch paper to clean off the palette and brushes – shame just to wash all that nice paint down the drain! I chose one of my failed coffee-dipping papers which had ended up just being a folded grid pattern, and worked with brush strokes in the squares, working in opposite directions to create a kind of pattern. I am sure I shall be able to do something with this!
Here is the completed painting with the reference picture.
I put the binding wire back onto the covers of the book and inserted the pages I have painted. Here is the finished ginkgo painting in the book, showing how the painting extends under the binding wire.
I shall probably do some more paintings from the book, but I am happiest working with mixed media and collage. I intend using many different materials and techniques to embellish this book, but keep the unifying theme of botanicals. I am not very comfortable with straight painting, but it’s good to work outside one’s comfort zone once in a while.
Ruby in a box
My hubby produced a new box for the kitties today, with holes in it – when they were little, they would love playing with boxes with holes to poke their paws through. Lily isn’t very interested in boxes but Ruby can never resist a box. She got in this one and it was a bit of a tight squeeze and there was no room for her tail – and I love how the fur on her bottom is poking through the hole!! She didn’t stay in for more than a minute of two but just tried it for size.
Gosh when I saw that beautiful green on the black it took my breath away! It’s incredible how you’ve done that – so clever to transfer the image int he book and create such a beautiful image. Bright green is my favourite colour so maybe that’s why it had that effect, at first I thought you’d copied it from somewhere until i’d seen how you’d built it up. Absolutely amazing. Your eally must contact the author of the obok and show them your results! Amazing.