Leaves of Pacific Northwest Natives, SBA Assignment 3

Clockwise from the top left: Mahonia repens (Low Oregon Grape), Sedum oreganum (Oregon Stonecrop), Penstemon serrulatus (Cascade Penstemon), Maianthemum dilatatum (False Lily of the Valley), Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry), Tolmiea menziesii (Piggy-back Plant), Veratrum californicum (California Corn Lily), and Oxalis oregana (Oregon Oxalis).

This is my Assignment 3 from the Society of Botanical Artists course that I am currently taking. The assignment was to paint eight different leaves, two of which should be colored (other than green) and one should be of a monocotyledon. I found the assignment very challenging but learned a lot. I have a new appreciation for the complexity of leaves!  I went with a theme of the early spring leaves of plants native to the Pacific Northwest where I live.

The Mahonia repens is transitioning from its bright red winter color to green spring and summer color.  The new growth on the Sedum is flushed with red and the Vaccinium with orange.  The Tolmiea has tiny hairs that emerge out of small divots in the leaf.  The hairs can only be seen at a certain angle.  They are visible in the original painting but may not be here.  I have close-ups of each leaf on flickr if you are interested.

Addendum: Tutor’s Comments & My Reflections:

My tutor thought my leaves were well chosen for color, variety of shape, size and texture .  She said that my outlines were good with clearly defined edges and veins.  She thought that the perspective on all of them was accurate and liked the varied angles.  She said I used a full tonal range to give a 3D effect, except for the underside of the Oxalis, which seemed flat.  She gave me some advice on possible pigments to mix for a fresher look for the Oxalis (W&N Green Gold, Permanent Sap Green and Indigo with perhaps a dab of Permanent Mauve).  She liked my composition and noted the pleasing flow and negative spaces.

I got the best score yet on this assignment and was starting to get in the range I was hoping for.  I was pretty inexperienced with watercolors and had not painted dry-brush before, so was happy that the assignment went well.  I had left the Oxalis until last because it seemed the most daunting to me, and I ran out of time to experiment very much before diving in to paint it…and it showed!