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Cherry
Size: 18x18 inches (Fully framed size)
Medium: Mixed Media - Watercolor, Ink, Metallic Pigments
The past month it has felt more like the middle of Spring than the early December Winter that it should be. I was inspired by the profusion of blossoms on all the cherry and plum trees, and by the Lunar New Year to paint some blooms.
I was recently at the Berkeley Botanical Gardens to see a Botanical Illustration show, and fell in love with the pieces that were done on a surface called Dura-lar, which I found out was a brand that made translucent vellums and other acetate surfaces for drawing and painting on. I bought a couple pads. I found out after I got home that I had accidentally bought one that was just clear acetate. Colored pencils didn't work on it, and neither did watercolor painted directly. Though ink did work quite well, and my watercolor gesso worked too. So I set about playing with it to see what I could do.
Painted the watercolor ground in silhouettes of the blossom branch.
It was quite fun to see the finished branch on the transparent surface.
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I tried out various backgrounds to set it up against.
And finally settled on painting a textured surface of metal leaf, metallic powders, watercolor, and sealer. The result looks bit like beaten copper.
Sandwiched the acetate and background with mat board for the final piece.
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