Autumn Drift

Autumn Drift Pond Painting of Golden Autumn Leaves.

This Autumn Drift pond painting captures golden autumn leaves drifting across calm, rippling water — a meditative moment beside the pond, watching leaves carried gently along the surface, that became the quiet daydream behind this piece.”

MEDIUM:

Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZE: 11 x 14 | ORIENTATION: Landscape | TOOLS: Procreate, 13″ iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, Giclée Fine Art Archival paper and ink | AVAILABILITY: Prints available | CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART

ARTIST’S PROCESS:

Autumn Drift was painted in Procreate on a 13″ iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. A personal photograph from an autumn visit to a local pond served as inspiration. The process began with a sketch layer following the waves and ripples of the pond’s surface and the placement of the leaves. Additional layers built color blocking and watercolor washes to create depth and movement. Once the water surface was complete, a layer of small yellow and brown leaves and color patches was added to suggest leaves further out and beneath the surface. Soft passes of color from the water layers, using the Procreate airbrush at 60% opacity, helped integrate the leaves into the water. A final layer, set to “Add” blend mode, used the small airbrush to create highlights along the water’s surface.

CHALLENGE:

Placing objects on a water surface with the intention of integrating them with the water requires a process to paint them obscured to varying degrees by the colors of the water and light reflections while at the same time not losing the object’s structure and visibility. This was accomplished by creating the main body of water and surface ripples first. On a layer above the water layers, the leaf forms and color areas suggesting leaves were painted. With the leaves complete with color, details, and lighting, a layer was created above for the addition of colors taken from the lower water layers. Painting over the leaves layer with the correct color values and a soft airbrush at 50% opacity and matching the hues and movement of the waves defined below, a glaze was created over the leaves incorporating them into the surface of the water.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Abstract Art — Autumn Leaves — Pond Reflections — Water Movement — Nature Study — Seasonal Wall Art  — CONTACT Shadowmyst Art for additional information