Macro Leaf
This watercolor painting is of a clover and another plant (which I don't know the name of). This was made with pen (micron) and watercolor. I started with a pencil sketch of the leaves. Then, I added .05 mm line art. I tried to use a different style of line art than I usually do because I wanted to try something new. After that, I layered the paints to add more and more color. Unfortunately, I was missing a certain shade of green at home, so one of the leaves is a slightly different color. In this painting, I used many different elements and principles of design. I used line to show the shape of the leaves. I used color and value to give the shapes of the leaves form and texture. I used negative and positive shape to give the drawing more interest. I used contrast to emphasis the darker shadows.
I used the rule of thirds when I was considering the layout of the leaves. I used informal balance and high key lighting. I used sharp focus, so I could add more detail. Then, I added .05 mm line art. I tried to use a different style of line art than I usually do because I wanted to try something new. After that, I layered the paints to add more and more color. I decided part-way-through to change the color scheme slightly from the originally design to have more highlights and yellow.
If I were to make a story/meaning behind the artwork, I would say that this is a sample of common plants kept in a lab behind glass because they might go extinct with the rising temperatures. This project relates to my life because I made a similar watercolor painting last year, and I made a lot of improvement. Although I am content with the improvement I made from last year, I would fix this if I had more time:
- The color is not constant throughout
- The line art was done badly
- It was a mistake to go over the boarder in that way (it looks a little messy)
- I used dark shadows without blending it correctly
- I did not use a background
- I did not sign in the correct place
- The stem is transparent as it goes over the leaf