CQJP July Block

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Inspiration Sunday October 2, 2011

Happy October!


Here's a photo of what I see out my bedroom window:

The colors are now past their peak, and the leaves are rapidly falling from the trees, creating a crunchy carpet underfoot.







My challenge: For any new followers, I am  creating a painting, hopefully each Sunday, following the Artist's Muse by Betsy Dillard Stroud. Each week I choose 1 or 2 cards from the three card decks included, and follow the instructions.

card 1:- do an unlimited palette painting using at least 12 pigments. To finish, glaze over all or part of the painting to coalesce the composition
card 2:- compose the entire painting as though it were a pattern


My inspiration: leaves gathered on my daily walk











beginning with three shades of yellow











adding greens, and golds, and a touch of burnt sienna







With watercolours, I painted  the underside of each maple leaf, pressed it onto the damp watercolor paper, topped it with waxed paper, added weights, and set it aside to dry.










 Once dry, and the waxed paper removed, I mixed indigo blue with various shades of green, outlined each leaf, and softened the edge with a damp brush.
 a closer look
all the leaves outlined
the Reveal.  Can you see the veins and texture of each leaf?




on the leaf in the lower left corner, I used acrylic paint, applied thickly. The result was not as crisp as with the watercolours.
The leaf veins and texture show up nicely. The underpainting glows.







I think all the many colors work with the leaf pattern.

I chose not to glaze over the painting, as this might cause bleeding of the strong colours.





Next Challenge:
card 1:- Set up a still life. Paint it abstractly
card 2:- use a sgraffito technique: coat your paper with gesso. Lay down 5 layers of paint, scraping through in places to show the previous layer. After the final coat has dried, you can glaze the entire surface with transparent paint.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday.
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

21 comments:

  1. Wow - this is great Suz!! It's amazing how much of the details in the leaves shows up and the addition of the blue (sky?) around each just makes them pop.

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  2. Thanks, Magpie's Mumblings! I was surprised how much detail showed since I didn't use a lot of paint on each leaf. Hope you're having a nice Sunday.
    Hugs

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  3. Love the addition of that blue!
    Fox : )

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  4. This project turned out beautifully. I love the colors and the details. What a great way to spend some time, I have to try this activity.
    Gita

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  5. It was a lot of fun to do, Gita. If you try it, I'd love to see pics of your results!
    Hugs

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  6. I am not a painter but wow what great painting of your autumn leaves. very lovely. I can hardly believe it already past peak for your colors already.Our leaves are just starting to turn. Thanks for sharing. hugs Judy

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  7. Thanks Judy! Yes, I'm afraid many of our trees are half naked now. I hope you enjoy your autumn colors.
    Hugs

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  8. Gorgeous, Suz. Thanks for sharing, I learn so much from your painting experiments! Here the leaves are just starting to colour, the last few days it feels like summer.

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  9. I love autumn leaves - you've made such a great picture with these. Well done!

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  10. Dear Suz, that looks amazing- how fantastic that there stay so much of the leaves when finished- and the blue around, gives them a beautiful, background.
    Hugs,Dorthe

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  11. Thanks, Annet, I learn from them, too. And it keeps me painting. I wish we were having summer temperatures here. It's getting chilly....a high of 5C!

    Thanks Janet. Our leaves will soon be gone, so I'll have these to look at instead. Have a good week ahead.
    Hugs

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  12. Hi Dorthe! I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Have a good week.
    Hugs

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  13. It is really looking beautiful -- We are having a bit of an "Indian Summer" here so Autumn does not know whether it's coming or going!
    Love Linda

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  14. Enjoy the lovely weather while you can......autumn seems to be here full force, but I sure wouldn't say no to a warm spell. I do like the crisp, cool, outdoor air, I must admit.
    Hugs

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  15. Hi Suz,

    thank you for your comment about my little cloche!!
    I think you idea of a small plate is excellent!! I will go see if I have any that will fit the bottom of the cloche!!
    How fun!!
    Your leaf designs look so cool!!

    Hugs and Smiles,

    Susan

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  16. Thanks so much Susan. Hope you can find those plates.
    Hugs

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  17. Your countryside is so inspiring, Suz!! Beautiful autumn leaves and your painting will bring you back to that time over and over. The background colour really makes the leaves 'pop'.

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  18. It's a lovely spot here, Diane, especially in the autumn when all (well, most of) the bugs are gone. I love the fall colors! Thanks for your nice comment.
    Hugs

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  19. This is so neat Susan!!! Love the colours & it turned out beautifully. Our library doesn't have Betsy Stroud's The Artist's Muse but it does have a copy of her Painting from the inside out : 19 projects and exercises to free your creative spirit which I've just put a hold on. Like your plan of painting every Sunday. Sounds wonderful :)

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  20. Hi JennyPennyPoppy! I haven't read "Painting From The Inside Out", so do let me know once you've seen it if you'd recommend it. I'm sure the exercises will be interesting and challenging. Hope you have fun experimenting with it!
    Hugs

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I love to read your comments!