Autumn Trees

 These are a couple of trees used as samples for the Thursday art class at the hospice. These are done using acrylic paints -the sky and grass were applied as a wash. The trunk was built up as the project developed and the leaves were made using acrylic paints applied with a small bunch of tied cotton buds, dipped into the paint and then onto the paper, building up a nice range of autumnal colours and giving some texture and depth to the leaves. I also went back in with some undiluted green acrylic and a brush to add some texture to the grass before adding falling and fallen leaves and finally the wording stamp was added in archival ink.

This second tree has more of a water colour feel to it as the paint used was a different brand and far more dilute than my usual paint. It was also a sample I was using to show the various steps throughout the class and so it was done in a real hurry...which may not have been a bad thing as it definitely did not allow any time to over think the process.

Of the two I prefer the grass on the first one - it has more texture and depth and I definitely prefer the tree trunk of the second one..it is softer and looks more real to me


Anyhow these were the project for Thursday and everyone had great fun doing them. We did have a couple of mini forests and even one burning bush (rather than a tree) but we balanced it out with another bush and some wording and the end result was great. We mounted the finished artwork on some card and the patients took their masterpieces home with them.  If you haven't already tried it,
I highly recommend painting by cotton buds...its  very effective, and more importantly, its fun!

Until next time
Cxx