american basswood gouache painting
American Basswood, 2023
8” X 8”
Gouache, walnut ink on archival cold press paper.
About the Painting
Picked up on the way into my studio after a summer thunderstorm and inspiring a whole new approach to botanical paintings about my new backyard. Created over several morning studio sessions, these leaves are layers of color and line work.
I started with a graphite line drawing which was then outlined in walnut ink I made from the little woods on our acreage. Then layers of color in highly pigmented gouache paints were used to build up the texture and depth of the leaves. Instead of shying away from the imperfections of the wind-fall leaves, I fell in love with the negative space of the bug-eaten voids.
