Note to all: this is the sixth blog entry in which I will be copying, over time, the 30 posts  I wrote to my 80 sponsors this past March as part of the "March Art Marathon",  a fundraising effort to support refugees and asylum-seekers in Central Vermont. The organization that sponsored this marathon is The Central Vermont Refugee Action Network (CVRAN) 

Each of these brief posts illustrate something of the processes I go through to create my large oil landscapes as well as delicate botanical watercolors. In these posts I also reflect on my life as a full-time painter: how I feel about having grown up in Vermont, how this environment shapes what I paint...  and who who inspires me.)

Hello all! March 7, 2024

What IS a botanical watercolorist to do in the winter when spring flowers are still

many weeks away?

In the absence of green growing things there are always dried leaves. What they

lack in bright fall colors or the richness of summer greens they make up for in the

interest of their decayed and broken shapes.

Here’s a very worn out maple leaf which I first sketched on cheap paper so I could

erase to my heart's content: 

I then refined the drawing after transferring it to hot press watercolor paper, then

applied a masking fluid where the veins and leaf holes needed to remain white: (at

the bottom of this post, an explanation of masking fluid):

.

... laid down the first washes of color:... and, after laying down more washes to deepen values, I rubbed off the masking

fluid, started adding in fine "dry brush" detail to clearly define the primary

structural veins and, using my littlest brushes, painted the lacy network of tiny

veins that are revealed once the leaf's outer skin has deteriorated.

Finally, shadows

offer a sense of depth:

The leaf all by itself feels poignant to me, so I don’t think I’ll do anything further

with it. On to the next painting of an old leaf as I think through the workshop I’m

offering this weekend.

Best,

Susan

PS: Masking fluid can be applied to watercolor paper to preserve areas you wish to

remain white. It sits harmlessly on top of the paper, dries pretty fast, and after

you’ve painted over it —and the paint is also dry— it rubs right off. It’s useful

when small areas, such as the holes in this leaf or its veins, need to remain white

but it’s too much of a hassle to paint around those small areas.