COMPOSITION PRACTICE #2, PART 2

   With white crayon or wax, we'll draw a few thin, scattered wax lines horizontally, mostly near the mountains and left water edge. Then, 4 light mixtures of yellow/green, blue, blue/green and gray/blue are painted in a graded wash method, alternating hues. Water is used for lighter blends in the distance near the mountains, and in the middle area. Also, some small, thin paper areas are left unpainted. The gray/blue and blue/green values acts as a separation between other hues, and is painted more frequently in the foreground.

    While the water area is drying, the path, trunk and surrounding area will be finished. Since the trunk is the most important part of the foreground, the washes surrounding it are kept low values. Medium grays are painted here, and also in the path area. A darker stroke partially outlines the path from the adjacent narrow grass strip. To add a bit of color, a yellow/green is touched to the gray in small patches in the area behind the trunk. Light gray washes surround the front and right side of the tree trunk.

    The bark of the tree is given the most attention. A dark red/brown defines the roots more. While that is wet, a thin brush with dark brown/black hue outlines the edges, and another thin line suggests cracks in the top surface. A touch of the yellow/green ground color is added here also.

    Now for some colorful fun! We'll add more plants along the base of the tree by placing dabs of dark green along the ground. Flip the brush over and drag the color upwards with the tip of the handle to form stems and leaves. To form more flowers, you can paint them, or put a dabs of color in a small, circular fashion above the stems, and again using the handle tip, drag out tiny petals. Light yellow/orange flowers were added near the path and behind the trunk. Change colors and add more as you like! This area is now finished.

    As that is left to dry, we'll give some more attention to the large rock. Notice that it is divided into 3 areas. The yellow/green and grays are repeated in the top of the rock. Light gray and a light red/brown are painted in the middle division. A red/brown, gray and darker brown/gray are painted in the lower area--and a "speckled" application occurs here. While the first two washes are in place, the darker brown/gray is loaded on a brush. It is held over the area where speckled dots of color are desired. Another brush is used to tap this one, discharging small drops of color into the under washes. An old tooth brush can be used and flicked with a brush handle to do the same thing.The brush is rinsed and flicked again with just clear water. This produces the tiny white speckled spots in the surface. It is always a good idea to lay scrap paper or toweling around areas you do NOT want to receive spattered flicks. Should this happen, a damp brush of clear water should blend them out. This speckling technique adds interesting texture to the rock and can be effective in other applications as well.

    After lots of tender care, it's time to get finished, like right HERE!