Seasonal Leaves Series, Autumn

Seasonal Leaves Series

Autumn is the season for a palette of yellows, oranges, reds and browns mixed among the remaining summer green. The Maple leaves are fully changing color and preparing for winter dormancy. The  Maple Tree, includes many varieties and so they add a host of colors to the changing season. These leaves are from the Crimson King Maple which turn a stunning shade of brick red when the temperature drops.

MEDIUM: Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZE: 8 x 10 | 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:

Seasonal Leaves – Autumn, part of the Seasonal Leaves Series, was painted in Procreate on a 13″ iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. Each painting in this set of 4 replicates traditional paintings’ depth and texture through layered digital brushwork. A careful structural drawing was made detailing the shape, veins, and branches for this piece. The next step was color blocking for each leaf on separate layers to create depth through size, deepening colors and crisp edges. The background washes were placed on layers below the leaves’ foundation layers to set the tone for the leaf colors. Above the leaf base color, multiple rounds of detail work and value refinement created the leaf details for each layer. A final set of layers perfecting shadow and light was created using a Procreate soft, round watercolor brush to finalize the autumn version of the Seasonal Leaves Series.

CHALLENGE:

Since this series represents 4 completely different environments the background details had to be chosen to match the mood of each particular season while keeping the series connected.  The autumn background is consistent with the series characteristic of a soft watercolor wash. A palette of  mixed orange, yellow and brown was was chosen to represent the colorful fall environment with a dappling of stronger hues to suggest leaves on the ground. To achieve this a watercolor style background multiple layers and Procreate watercolor brushes were used to lay down a main background wash of light brown. A soft round Procreate brush was used to dab the autumn colors into the wash followed by a stippling of deeper specks to suggest the ground. To keep the background impressionistic the final step was a 5% Gaussian blue of the merged layers completing an autumn atmosphere quietly in the background.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Botanical — Maple Leaves — Autumn — Crimson King Maple Tree — Seasons — Seasonal Color Changes — Nature — Painterly Realism — Procreate Artwork