Avocado Leaf

watercolor on hot press watercolor paper

The final assignment for Watercolor I at Filoli was to paint a leaf of our choice.  I wanted a subject with some variation of color so I chose an avocado leaf from the tree in our backyard and waited until it had begun to decay.

Watercolor 1 at Filoli - Session 3

The third session of Watercolor I at Filoli focused on formulas to mix grays for shadows as well as different greens.  We then used the mixtures to paint 5 different leaves which are shown below along with the ingredients for all mixtures.

leaves and watercolor of hot press watercolor paper

Watercolor 1 at Filoli - Session 2

For the second session of Watercolor 1 we practiced layering graded washes on 3 different shapes to build dimensionality.  The 3 shapes were to be rendered to different degrees and the finished trio is the furthest to the right below.

watercolor on paper

Watercolor 1 at Filoli - Session 1

Once the palette was established, we began watercolor practicing 3 different wash techniques - flat wash, graded wash and blended wash.  For the first assignment, we were to choose 3 botanical subjects to practice the washes on, building layers to various degrees as shown below.

'Tomato' - flat wash

'Belgian Endive Leaf' - graded wash 

'Mango' - blended wash

Watercolor I at Filoli

Today was the second meeting for Watercolor I at Filoli and we continued our work on wash techniques from last week and began some color mixing.

Unfortunately, I turned in all the work I've done so far before photographing and won't be able to post pictures until next week.  In the meantime, the following is an image of the palette we will be using for the course.  The colors are labeled and the paints are all from Winsor & Newton except for Leaf Green (Holbein) and Sap Green (M. Graham).  The palette is from the Michael Wilcox School of Color.

Ranunculus

graphite on bristol paper - 8.5" x 11"

The above drawings were done as the final project for 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' at Filoli.  I also decided to take the opportunity to practice my italic hand!

Calla Lily & Magnolia Leaf

Today was the second day of 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' at Filoli and we worked on cups, cones, cup/cone flowers and leaves.  The Calla lily (cone flower) and Magnolia leaf below were completed earlier.

graphite on bristol paper

Botanical Art at Filoli

I love botanical illustration and recently began taking classes towards a certificate in Botanical Art at Filoli.  Today was the first day of 'Drawing Plants in Perspective' and the above drawings were completed today with graphite pencils on bristol paper.

For our first assignment, we need to complete drawings of a branch and some sort of round botanical object (without perfect symmetry).  I am on the hunt for subjects and welcome suggestions!

And just for fun....a little Filoli trivia courtesy of Wikipedia:

The "exterior of Filoli [was] used as the Carrington Mansion on the TV series Dynasty."