This week’s topic: Leaves

Painting the Forest Floor

This week’s topic is leaves and autumn. I remember years ago buying a book called Celebrate Your Creative Self, by Mary Todd Beam.  She talked about nature and being creative in the ways we can represent nature in art work. There was an exercise on creating a representation of the forest floor in the fall.

  The materials I used to create the above quick painting of Forest Floor are acrylic paints because I didn’t have my watercolor paints with me, colored pencils, leaves, plastic bags, watercolor paper and contact paper(not pictured).

First, I cut out various leaf shapes from the contact paper and applied them to the watercolor paper.

Second, I painted a mixture of acrylic paints over the top of them. I crumbled up the plastic bags after cutting them open and pressed them onto the wet paint.

When the paint had dried, I removed the leaf cut-outs and painted them in with paint, adding details with colored pencils.

I also coated some actual leaves and twigs with paint, and pressed them on to the paper.

This was a quick Make-It Monday exercise as I am trying to get this up and posted today to keep my promise about posting every day.  I like this painting but would probably add many more objects, layers and colors given more time.

Try finding something in nature that you want to recreate in art.

Have fun and enjoy!

Peace,

Nature Mamaw