Tuesday, August 23, 2011

"The Shade Tree" (sold)




















(sold)

If you are blessed to have a large tree either in your yard or surrounding area, then you can appreciate its significance. Perhaps you've noticed how quickly all of the parking places near a tree get "snapped up" as we continue to endure the Texas heat. Trees are good!

The primary appeal of the tree in this piece is the transparent watercolor plus a "wet into wet" application. The soft blurring of color is a great contrast to the hard edges of the tree's outline. The contrast in color was "bumped up" in the lettering and the dark areas of the foliage with the addition of Perylene Violet Gouache (WN). Violet is a split complement of green which gives a more subtle contrast than a direct complement.

Shapes and division of space are always present in my thinking process. By extending the tree from top to bottom and choosing a tree with interesting branching, I was able to mimic the same shapes that were present in the first layer of paste paper. Extending lettering, shapes, and imagery from edge to edge is so much more exciting than placing everything in the center. And that is something to really think about!

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