Charley Speakes

I do have a thing for leaves, and who doesn’t love painting them? There is something just so meditative in painting a bunch of leaves up a stem. Sometimes I can do them really well, other times I get them so wrong.

I think my favourite are eucalyptus leaves. I’m not good at them, I have tried them, but there again I am not sure I have ever really seen one in real life, not that that would really make that much difference I’m sure. I like the blue green of them, and as I am learning to mix my colours I have enjoyed doing this, I do realise though that I need to do it more. I just go a great little book from Amazon about mixing watercolours, slowly working my way through that.

I can see from this that these really do not look blue green at all. Must try again – and do better next time lol.

Next come the two stroke leaves, I think I could do this as a full time job, I just so enjoy doing them.

I know I need loads more practice. I was trying to work with the shades of one colour and trying to show depth. I think my brain tells me that things further away are darker, but I know for painting certainly this isn’t correct, but it stills does my head in a bit.

Anyway, I’m nearly caught up.