Seasonal Leaves Series, Winter

Seasonal Leaves Series

Winter is the season of dormancy. The leaves have fallen and the colors have faded. The color palette for this piece is muted yellow, orange and light to darker greys.  The Maple leaves are dry and crispy on the ground having completed their cycle. The  Maple Tree, includes many varieties, this leaf being from the Sugar Maple Tree. After its brilliant yellow show of Autumn color it has fallen and dried creating a type of detailed sculpture of its former self.

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 – Winter, 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 winter background is consistent with the series characteristic of a soft watercolor wash. A selection of grey color values was chosen to represent the stillness of the winter environment. To achieve this a watercolor style background multiple layers and Procreate watercolor brushes were used to lay down a main background wash of medium grey. A soft round Procreate brush was used to dab the darker greys into the wash followed by light detailing with a Procreate Technical brush to suggest a gravel surface. To keep the background impressionistic the final step was a 5% Gaussian blue of the merged layers completing an winter atmosphere quietly in the background.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Botanical — Maple Leaves — Winter — Sugar Maple Tree — Seasons — Seasonal Color Changes — Nature — Painterly Realism — Procreate Artwork — CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART for additional information