Maple Leaves: A Watercolor Exploration of Fall Beauty

1. Skillshare Intro: Hi and welcome to my skillshare class on painting maple leaves. I'm Chris, a watercolor and digital artist, as well as a teacher, and I'll guide you through the step by step process of painting these gorgeous leaves. In this class, our focus will be on creating a vivid and energetic color composition. I'll demonstrate how to achieve vibrant colors using techniques such as wet on dry, wet on wet, and charging. Additionally, I'll show you how to paint water drops on any subject and provide a general approach to painting leaves. While leaves are often considered challenging to paint, I'll simplify the process into easy steps that can yield impressive results. This tutorial is suitable for artists of all skill levels. If you're a beginner seeking a challenge, you will find my instructions easy to follow, allowing you to create this artwork with ease. The tutorial is divided into short, manageable parts and I will guide you step by step throughout the entire process. To help you get started, I'll provide resources such as a list of the supplies I used, ready to print line drawings in various sizes, a reference photo, and working progress photos. Feel free to refer to my finished painting for inspiration and guidance as you work on your own painting. If you're ready to create something beautiful, let's dive right in and begin. 2. Your Project: For your class project, I encourage you to follow along with my entire process and paint with me. However, if you find the entire painting to be too much at once, feel free to focus on just one section. For example, you can choose to paint just one leaf from the entire composition. You also don't have to paint water drops if you don't want to, or you may reduce their number. This project offers you many opportunities to be creative. For instance, you may want to change the colors of the leaves completely, which would be interesting to. Or you can add more various texture effects and visual effects to the leaves. The main goal is to introduce you to various concepts, ideas, and techniques that you can later apply in your own paintings. Please don't hesitate to share your progress photos and the final painting with the class. You can upload them to the Projects and Resources section by clicking on the Submit Project button, providing a brief description of your process and any challenges you faced during your creative journey can be helpful for both fellow students and me. Allows for valuable feedback and support. If you encounter any questions or concerns during the process, feel free to ask in the discussion section. I'm here to assist you in any way I can. Lastly, I highly recommend watching each lesson before you start your painting. This will help you become more familiar with the techniques and better prepared for what to expect, leading to a more confident and enjoyable painting experience. If you find this class helpful, I would greatly appreciate if you could leave an honest review. Your feedback will help me create better content and assist other students in deciding whether to take this class. Thank you in advance. 3. Resources: I've prepared some helpful resources for your project, which you can access in the Projects and Resources section. In the resources, you'll find a PDF file containing a list of the supplies I used for this painting. While it's not necessary to use the exact same supplies, I recommend using 100% cotton paper. For the best results, you can use your preferred paints and brushes. You'll also find a reference photo work in progress photos and my finished painting all can provide inspiration for your own artwork. Additionally, there are line drawings available in different sizes that you can print and transfer into your watercolor paper. You can choose the size that suits your preferences. I painted this painting on 12 by nine size. Feel free to explore these resources and use them to create your unique and beautiful painting. If you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy your project. 4. Introduction: Hi everyone and a warm welcome to this watercolor tutorial where we'll dive into the mesmerizing world of painting. Autumn maple leaves. This project is particularly well suited for those looking to hone their watercolor wet on wet technique without the pressure of avoiding mistakes. In fact, in this painting, mistakes can actually enhance the look of the painting. The leaves showcase a variety of textures and spots. Any imperfections will only contribute to the overall interest and character of your subject. The color palette for this painting is truly a feast for the eyes. Vibrant yellows, oranges and fiery reds, playfully mingling with greens and a touch of blue. This dynamic combination ensures an eye catching and lively result. To make things easy, I've broken down the tutorial into manageable segments, making it accessible even for beginners if you're new to water, color and looking for a challenge, this is a fantastic opportunity. Trust me, the process is more approachable than it may initially appear. I deliberately kept the details minimal, simplifying the composition to focus on the joy of painting. Exploring textures and experimenting with color combinations. I've organized this painting into distinct sections for clarity. Yellow leaf, green leaf, red leaves, orange leaves, water and stalks. This division will make it easier to identify and navigate through each specific element of the artwork. You might notice water drops in this painting. A playful addition that you can skip if you prefer are optional, but I find they bring a sense of freshness and added interest. They can be added when the painting is finished. Feel free to decide whether to include them after completing the painting. You don't have to include water drops in your initial pencil sketch. If you find that you like the painting without water drops, you won't have those additional circles visible in your artwork. On the other hand, if you decide later that you want to add some water drops after finishing your painting, you can always draw the circles later. This is something you can easily do without the help of a line drawing. For this piece, I worked on a 12 by nine size using arches Cold press paper from a 1410 inch put. This size seems to be a favorite among many of you according to a survey I conducted a while ago. I aim to cater to this preference in future tutorials. However, I've also provided line drawings in other sizes in case you want to experiment. I chose not to stretch the paper this time. Instead, I only stapled it to my trusty Gator board and added masking tape around the edges. In the class resources, you will find a helpful PDF where I explain why I opt for staples and masking tape. With your sketch ready and art supplies prepared, let's embark on this creative journey together. Happy painting. 5. Initial Layer - Yellow Leaf: Here is my sketch. I used an HB pencil, and I intentionally kept the lines dark for better visibility. Typically, I would use a needed eraser to lighten the lines, making them barely noticeable. However, for this tutorial, I've left them dark so that you can clearly see them. Feel free to adjust your lines to your preference, light or dark. For brushes, I'll be using silver black velvet brushes in different sizes, primarily a size 86.4 Now let's get our colors ready. We'll begin with yellows. For this stage, I've chosen Windsor Yellow. Additionally, I'm introducing Windsor Yellow Deep. Blending these two yellows together, combining a warm and a cool yellow, creates a neutral yellow base that we can adjust towards either the warm or cool side as needed. Expanding the palette by mixing windsor yellow deep with permanent alysarine crimson. It's important to mention that this isn't the traditional alysarine crimson with a fugitive pigment, R83. Instead, I'm using a different version, a non fugitive alternative of alysarine crimson, which in Windsor Newton's brand is called permanent alysarine Crimson. This combination results in a muted orange hue, leaning towards an orangey brown tone. Now let's introduce the fiery red into our palette. For this, I've chosen Windsor Red. In addition, we all need green, and I've opted for Windsor green yellow shade. With these four main colors, we've established our base. Our starting point for the painting will be the prominent yellow leaf on the right hand side. Load your brush with a diluted yellow mix, ensuring a watery consistency. Opt for a brush size eight. For this step, begin applying the paint the leaf using the wet on dry technique. In this initial stage, we're using the wet on dry technique as we laid down the foundational layer. The objective here is to apply the base colors to each element of the painting, essentially creating a roadmap and foundation. The next layer will involve the wet on wet technique, allowing us to craft some beautiful effects. However, for now, let's concentrate on establishing the essential colors in this phase. Given that we're currently using the wet on dry technique, aim to maintain a watery consistency in your paint. This doesn't necessarily mean your applied color should be a pale yellow. As you can see, the yellow I'm using appears highly intense at full strength, yet the paint is diluted. Using a thicker paint might lead to quick drying and the possibility of hard edges. Although it wouldn't be a problem here because we'll be applying another layer and any imperfections will enhance the leaves appearance. I encourage you to practice the wet on dry technique at this stage. While many beginner tutorials online often feature exercises with creating flat or graded washes in square shapes, I find such exercises somewhat limited. How often do we paint perfect squares in real artworks? Unless it may be architecture. Instead, this leaf offers an organic shape to practice on. Experimenting with the water to paint ratio here provides a valuable opportunity to hone your skills in a more applicable context. Feel free to explore and play with that balance as you bring this organic shape to life. In the wet on dry technique, it's generally best to steer clear of odd splotches and unevenness in the layer to achieve a seamless result. It's crucial to maintain a consistently wet paint and pay close attention to the edges from time to time, revisit the edges of the paint, and introduce more wet paint to ensure that the edge remains wet throughout the process. This vigilance towards the wetness of the paint and edges contributes to a smoother, more controlled application while the paint is still wet. Consider dropping in hints of orange in selected areas to introduce color variety. Although we'll delve deeper into oranges in the second layer, this initial stage allows us to suggest subtle color changes. This early introduction of orange adds nuance to the painting and sets the stage for the richer color exploration to come in the next layer. Keep in mind that we are capturing the essence of nature. In nature, each leaf is unique stress. If your leaf looks different, if it has different colors than mine, or has a distinctive appearance, that's totally fine. The aim here is for you to grasp an understanding of how we can approach subjects like this. Providing you with ideas that you can then apply to your own paintings. Embrace the individuality of each leaf and let it contribute to the overall charm of your artwork. All right, with this initial layer applied to the yellow leaf, let's now add some colors to the green leaf. 6. Initial Layer - Green Leaf: Within this gorgeous green leaf, there is a captivating array of colors, providing an excellent chance to introduce you to the concept of the charging technique. Begin on the left side by applying our yellow mix and gradually introduce Windsor Red. Take note of how wet my paint is. This level of wetness enables smooth color transitions, a technique typically associated with wet on wet painting. However, as you can observe, achieving these transitions is possible with the wet on dry technique as well. As long as we maintain a watery consistency in our paint, feel free to play around with the colors if you'd like, introduce different hues in various areas. Make the leave your own experiment with color variations to add a personal touch to your painting. Now, let me demonstrate the charging technique. As you can see, I'm applying yellow and the yellow on the paper is still wet. Next, I'm picking up Windsor green yellow shade and dropping it onto the wet yellow. This technique produces a lovely soft spots effect. This straightforward method is known as charging. Let's take a short break now. In watercolor painting, the charging technique is a method used to create interesting and dynamic effects by introducing wet paint into an area that is already wet with another color. This technique allows the colors to blend and mingle on the paper, creating soft transitions and subtle variations in tone. To use the charging technique, start by wetting a section of the paper with clean water or apply any paint color using wet on dry technique. Then pick up a different color with your brush and touch it to the wet. The wet surface will draw the pigment causing it to spread and merge with the existing wet paint. This can result in beautiful gradients, spontaneous blends, and unique textures. Experimenting with the charging technique gives you the opportunity to play with the interaction of colors on your paper. You can control the intensity of the effect by adjusting the wetness of the paper and the amount of pigment you introduce. It's a versatile technique that can be used for various purposes. From creating smooth transitions of colors to adding depth, complexity, visual texture to your subject. The charging technique is all about embracing the fluid and unpredictable nature of watercolors, allowing for delightful surprises in your artwork. The charging technique is similar to wet on wet painting. The distinction lies in the fact that in the charging technique, we apply wet paint over a layer of another wet paint. Whereas in wet on wet technique, apply paint on a layer of water. The primary goal of charging is to create more visual texture, dynamic color blends and additional effects. Whereas weton wet technique typically aims to achieve soft washes of colors. Despite these differences, the fundamental mechanism underlying both techniques is really similar. We'll use more charging technique in the second layer aiming to introduce even more visual interest. It's important to keep in mind that at this stage we focus only on applying the main colors. Transition from yellow to green on the right hand side of the leaf. Try to maintain the same level of wetness of the paint as this will enable you to achieve a seamless transition without any hard edges. In the upcoming section, we will shift our focus to the vibrant orange leaves. 7. Initial Layer - Orange Leaves: In this short part, let's apply paint to the two smaller orange leaves in the upper part of the painting. Beginning with the one on the left. I find it easier to turn the painting upside down, but if the normal position works better for you, feel free to paint in whichever orientation is more comfortable. I find it more convenient to paint in this orientation as it allows for easier maneuvering around the yellow leaf we've already painted for the colors. Let's use our mix of Windsor yellow deep with permanent alyzarine crimson. Take note that I'm adding a tiny bit of Windsor red to explore the color variation. I also picked up transparent orange and placed it next to our orange mix to make a comparison between the mix and the pure, transparent orange. I think I'll introduce the pure, transparent orange as well, because it's brighter and cleaner and it offers a beautiful effect. However, let's start with our initial orange mix. Of course, you can use any orange you have on your palette once more. Keep in mind to maintain a very fluid consistency in the paint. It needs to be really wet. If we aim for a smooth layer of color, don't hesitate to experiment with the colors. Avoid applying the large uniform layer of orange, because it will lack visual interest, it may look boring. Instead, introduce hints of red and yellow to infuse the leaf with diversity and color variation. This approach will enhance the overall appearance. If you like, you can even add a touch of green to suggest a seasonal color change. Let your creativity guide you in crafting a leaf that is vibrant and dynamic. That concludes our work on this leaf. Let's now shift our attention to the small leaf in the upper right corner. Begin by applying Windsor yellow deep, and then transition to Windsor red. I'm also introducing transparent orange into this mix here. Be sure to paint with care around the yellow leaf. That brings us to the end of the section. Now we'll patiently wait for these leaves to dry before moving on to the red leaves and applying the initial layer to them. It's crucial to ensure that all other leaves are completely dry. Otherwise, the colors from the red leaves may bleed into the ones we've already painted. If you would like to speed up the drying process, feel free to use a hair dryer. 8. Initial Layer - Red Leaves: Let's begin with the red leaves. Starting from the one at the bottom, I find that in most cases, applying a yellow underlayer first enhances the richness of the red. This yellow base tends to enhance the vibrancy of the red, preventing it from appearing flat and making it look brighter. However, in the case of this red leaf, where the color is a mix of red and yellow, I'll opt not to apply a yellow under layer first and waiting until it's dry to apply another layer. Instead, I will proceed with the red incorporating yellow. As I progress, you'll soon see how this technique adds depth and richness to the red leaf. Here I've laid down a base of yellow followed by the addition of Windsor Red. Now, as I continue, I'll incorporate more Windsor red while introducing Windsor Yellow deep. This combination results in an exceptionally vibrant appearance. To work on the smaller area, I'm switching to a smaller size four brush for more precision. For a simple exercise, try this on a spare piece of paper. Create a switch of pure Windsor red and another switch of Windsor yellow deep. You can actually use any other red that if you don't have Windsor red. Once they dry, apply a layer of Windsor red on both swatches, winds are red or another a different red that you have. You'll observe that the red with the yellow underlayer appears much more vibrant than the red without it. This exercise is a great way to witness the impact of the yellow under layer on the intensity of the red pigment. Continue applying the colors on the leaf, alternating between yellow and red. Take note that the middle part of the leaf leans more towards yellow, gradually transitioning to a deeper red towards the edges. This interplay of colors adds dimension and visual interest to the leaf. Feel free to rotate your painting as necessary. Certain areas, particularly the edges of the leaves, can be a bit challenging to paint. Rotate your painting so that the tip of the leaf aligns with the tip of your brush. This adjustment will make the application much more manageable and precise. Once you've completed applying the paint to the bottom leaf, let's move on to the one in the upper left corner. Once again, consider rotating the painting for easier painting. I know it might be a bit confusing to watch and I apologize for that, But you will likely find it more manageable if you rotate your painting as well as you work on the leave, alternate between Windsor yellow deep and Windsor red. Bringing out all those beautiful colors, Note that there is a bit more yellow closer to the green leaf. Feel free to add more Windsor Yellow deep in that region. In the upper part of the sleeve, it appears much darker. To enhance the depth, I'm introducing permanent Elyzarine crimson. This additional red not only contributes to a richer color palette, but also establishes a solid foundation for the dark red will be applying. In the next step, you may notice that the leaf is not evenly wet, which could potentially result in a bloom when the paint dries. While imperfections like blooms can add interest to the painting, this particular painting, If you prefer to prevent them, you can address this by adding more wet paint to the dryer area. In doing so, I'm aiming to ensure that the entire area is evenly wet, which should result in an even drying process, minimizing the chances of any blooms. Complete the sleeve by adding Windsor red to the small section behind the stalk, using a smaller size four brush for precision. With the initial layer applied to all our leaves allow them to dry. In the next step, we'll move on to applying the initial layer to the water. 9. Initial Layer - Water: Now that everything is completely dry, it's time to fill in all the negative spaces between the leaves, completing the water area of our painting. I'll remove the green from the palette to make room for blue as we'll now need some blue tones paints. Gray will serve as our dark blue because pains gray is not gray. It's blue, it's a very dark blue. For the primary blue, we'll be using ultramarine blue. Additionally, I'm also adding more Windsor red and letting it mingle with panes gray on the palette. Let's begin with the small section in the upper part in the reference photo. There's more blue in this area. It's generally lighter in tone. You can be more precise with the colors if you prefer keeping more blue for the sky reflection in the water. If you add more reds and oranges, it will give the impression of a leaf under the water. Choice between these variations is entirely up to you, and both approaches contribute to the overall look of the painting. I'm switching to a smaller brush for this part, applying the colors, using the wet on dry technique to maintain a smooth application, it's important to keep the paint consistency wet. Apply the main colors that you can see. I'm incorporating oranges and reds in the middle with more blue on the edges. This combination generates the illusion of a leaf under the water. Take care while painting around the leaves to preserve their distinct shapes. Moving on to the next small section on the right. I'm using a blend of Windsor red and paints gray. This combination results in a dark and muted purple or brown tone. Now for the bottom right corner, there is a lot happening with colors. I begin by applying ultramarine blue and then transition to more paints, gray. Take note that my paint is quite diluted. I'm sorry for repeating this over and over again, but it's really important. After the initial application on the small section, I go over it again with a darker tone. I'm using a charging technique we mentioned earlier. In this section, I'm introducing permanent Alizarin crimson and Windsor red. That a mix of Alizarin crimson and paints gray creates a truly beautiful color, almost like a deep burgundy red. It's a combination I absolutely love. You'll notice that I'm frequently switching between colors. In this area, I can't precisely detail where I've placed each color because there is constant alternation. However, the general concept here is that closer to the leaves, I want to incorporate more paints, gray. This choice aims to establish a distinct contrast. Between the leaves and the background, adding depth into this area. While we know there is a leaf under the water, the approach doesn't have to be overly literal, leaving room for interpretation. Placing some dark blue and red colors and creating abstract shapes can be sufficient to convey the desired effect. I find that Alizarin crimson pairs particularly well with paints gray in this area. Now let's move on to the next section At the bottom, notice the beautiful illusion of reflection in the water. This effect is achieved in two layers. The current layer involves applying lighter colors. In the second layer, we will paint the dark reflection. To create this beautiful effect, consider switching to a smaller brush for more precision. Begin with a lighter color. In this instance, I am first applying Alizarin crimson and then adding paints gray towards the bottom. Introduce ultramarine blue to enhance the bluish tone, suggesting the reflection of the sky in the water. In the bottom left corner, there's no need for anything special. Begin with a deep Alizarin crimson and then add paints gray. There's truly something magical in the mix of these two colors. I think it's my new favorite. Finally, we can address the middle part. Ideally, if you're watching this before you start painting, I hope you are, It's best to begin with this central area. I made the mistake of painting the surrounding sections first. And now I have to be cautious not to smash the wet paint by keeping my hand above the painting. I could wait until everything is dry. But I'm eager to complete this stage. I'll continue. However, if you're watching this before starting your painting, start with this central section. As it dries, you will find it easier to paint the surrounding sections with no problem. When we mix a Lazar in crimson with paints, gray gives us a truly deep color. Depending on the proportions, it's almost like black, but it's not a lifeless black. You can genuinely perceive the deep tone of this mixture in the central section and beginning by applying ultramarine blue, it's not a pure ultramarine blue. It has some addition of paints gray, creating a muted down blue, which is precisely what we need for this area. Fill the entire space with the color. You can also consider dropping in some red to introduce variety and suggest a reflection of the leaf in the water. Now let's move on to the stalks of the leaves. I believe it's a good idea to apply the basic color to them as well. At this stage, the stalks have a different shade of red, leaning more towards pink. For this, I'll use permanent rose mixed with a touch of Windsor red. Apply this color to all the stalks, and with that, we've completed applying the basic colors to our leaves. The painting is already taking shape, providing us with a clear roadmap. Now our focus will be on enhancing the colors, adding beautiful visual textures, attach of shadows, and detailing. In the upcoming part, we'll be diving into working on the yellow leaf. 10. Deepening Colors - Yellow Leaf: We've applied all the basic colors to the entire painting, now we can begin a very satisfying and creative process in which we'll be adding more visual texture and interest to the leaves. I'll start with a size eight brush. Make sure that everything is completely dry. Let's begin by applying a layer of water on one section of the leaf. Don't apply water to the entire leaf. Apply it only on a section that is a little bit bigger that you intend to paint. The idea here is to create environment for the paint to flow. We don't have to paint the entire leaf at once. We can do this in more manageable sections after applying water drop in some colors. Here I'm using transparent orange. In this particular part of the leaf we are painting now wet on wet. So the colors should create lovely soft color transitions. Apply Windsor yellow, deep to make the color more intense. Then drop in some orange again. Once you come to the area that is dry, use more water and wet another section that you're going to paint. We can begin with Windsor yellow deep to make the color more intense, and then we can add some orange. Notice that we are creating a build up of color. The colors now become really intense. The yellow is much deeper and stronger. The first layer was our foundation. Now we're just adding more colors, wet and wet, to make more variations within our colors. This layer will also fix any mistakes we made in the previous layer. For example, here I can see a slightly hard edge that I created in the previous layer. Now when I apply the sweat on wet layer, it will cover that and it will be less visible Drop in oranges, reds, browns. If you like, observe the reference photo. But remember that you don't have to follow it very strictly. You can be very creative here. You may, for example, spatter some random dots to make the leaf look even more interesting and have more texture. I really like this stage because the colors become very rich and intense. We can run a brush with an orange along the main veins on one side. This should create a bit of more three dimensional look by suggesting some core shadows. When you finish this leave, we can move on to the green one. 11. Deepening Colors - Green Leaf: This leaf is particularly interesting because we have the opportunity to work with yellows, oranges, reds and greens. The combination of these colors creates a vibrant and energetic visual appeal. I'm cleaning my palette to make room for the green color. For this, I'll be using Windsor green yellow shade. Start by wetting a section that you intend to paint. Pick up Windsor Red and apply it on the left side. This red serves as a reflection of the red leaf above. We don't have to be very strict about the colors. Our aim is to create a pleasing impression. Switch to Windsor Yellow deep in the upper section. Drop in some Windsor green mixed with Windsor yellow deep on this leaf. We have many opportunities to use both the wet on wet and the charging techniques. Begin by applying water, then add some color to it. Essentially, painting wet on wet. When the paint is still wet, you can drop in a different color or the same color, but in a darker tone to create additional spots of color. It looks particularly beautiful on this leaf when we drop in red and green to the wet yellow paint. Notice that in the yellow areas of the leaf, I'm applying yellow again. I do this to make the yellow more vibrant and full of life. Additionally, this yellow layer contributes to making the green, orange, and red more intense. Here you can see the charging technique in its full beauty. After applying the yellow layer, I'm dropping in random red and green dots to create more visual texture. The extent of spreading depends on the wetness of the paint. The more concentrated the paint, the less spreading, resulting in more defined dots. Feel free to experiment with the paint consistency to achieve the desired effect. I really like the green applied over the yellow. It's incredibly vibrant, Almost a bit too artificial, but I don't mind that at all. I believe the color combination looks really good here. Now leave the two leaves we just painted to dry completely. Once they are dry, we can proceed to paint the red leaves. 12. Deepening Colors - Red Leaves: Now for those stunning red leaves, we're going to play with a palette of reds to bring them to life. Our main star is Windsor Red, giving us that beautiful base. Joining the party, we've got permanent Alizarin Crimson to add some extra flare. But there is the secret ingredient to deepen those reds. Of course, it's paints gray. This will give your leaves that rich, intense dark hue, making them really stand out. Begin by, as we did before, applying a layer of water to the red leaf situated in the upper left corner. You have the option to wet the entire leaf, or just a specific section you're about to paint. Once you've applied the water, move on to the next step by adding Windsor red. The second layer of red will intensify the color, creating a more vivid effect to enhance the vibrancy even further, introduce Windsor yellow deep by carefully dropping it in. This combination adds richness and depth to your watercolor. As you transition, gradually incorporate permanent Olyzarine crimson into the mix. Introduce the captivating color by dropping it into random spots on your leaf. This step adds an element of unpredictability to your artwork. Creating a dynamic interplay of colors. Experiment with the placement of a lysarine crimson to achieve a visually engaging composition. Allowing the hues to blend organically on the paper. Near the orange leaf and in the shadowed regions on the left. Use the deepest shade of our red, achieved by blending it with pins gray. This darker mixture adds depth and contrast to those specific areas, enhancing the overall tonal richness of our watercolor composition. When we compare the painting to the reference photo, you'll notice that my painting appears considerably simpler. I intentionally simplified the entire image to suit the nature of watercolor painting. The goal isn't hyper realism. Rather it's to achieve realistic representation with room for interpretation. This approach allows us to capture the essence of the subject without delving into weeks long endeavors, striking a balance between realism and artistic interpretation. When you finish the first red leaf, let's move on to the one at the bottom. Start by applying a layer of water to a specific section of the bottom leaf. As you start applying the colors, pay attention to the interplay of shades. I'm adding a deep red under the yellow leaf to capture the shadowed regions, intensifying the contrast. Try to preserve the vibrant yellow centers on this leaf. We can also use the charging technique and drop in dark red spots to create interesting effect. Consider switching to a smaller to paint smaller dots. Keep in mind that these dots will naturally spread in the water. If you aim for more concentrated and less spreading spots, use thicker paint consistency or a much smaller brush size Working on bringing out more yellows on the right side of the main vein. Pay attention to how the red is more focused on the edges of the sleeve, while the center leans towards a warm orange yellow. This contrast adds a nice touch, making the leaf look more dynamic. Ensure that the small section on the left beneath the green leaf appears darker as it's in the shadow. Notice how beautifully the colors interact with each other. There's a harmonious blend and they work together beautifully, creating a soft and captivating effect on the leaves. Now let's allow them to dry completely. Once dry, we can add the details to the orange leaves. 13. Deepening Colors - Orange Leaves: We have two more leaves to work on. Let's begin with the small one in the upper right corner. Apply a water layer to the leave. This time, we can cover the entire leaf with water. Since it's not too big and its shape is easy to manage. I'll be using a brush size six for applying the colors. Let's begin with the Windsor Yellow Deep to ensure that this yellow will be really vibrant once it's dry. Now add oranges and reds. I'm introducing transparent orange and a combination of Windsor red and Alizarin Crimson. Add orange along the edges and veins, creating a smooth color transition from yellow to orange and red. While the paint is still, we use a slightly more concentrated darker red to paint random dots and add visual texture. Once you finish, proceed to the second orange leaf and repeat the process. First, prepare more transparent orange. I'll begin with a brush size eight. Traditionally start by applying a layer of water on the sleeve, and then add orange and red closer to the center of the leaf. I'm introducing a strong Windsor Red. I want to see a variety of shades here, from yellowish orange through orange to red. With this leaf, we have completed the application of the second layer on the leaves. In the next part, we'll paint the veins of all the leaves. 14. Veins: Now that everything is fully dry, it's time to add some details to our leaves. We'll focus on painting the veins in this stage. Let's start with the red leaf in the upper left corner. Notice how this red color became beautifully intense thanks to the addition of yellow. I'll be using a size brush with a sharp tip for this step. The sharp tip is really important here because it allows us to paint very thin vein lines accurately for the color. We'll stick to a darker red tone, a mix of permanent Alizarin crimson with a touch of paints, gray. Load your brush with this dark red color and then carefully paint the main vein. First, you can rotate your painting as needed. Personally, I find it works best to paint such lines from bottom to top or from left to right. Painting these lines can be a bit challenging as a steady hand is crucial. Ensure that your elbow is not in the air. Firmly place it on the table to provide support for your hand. Begin with a thicker line as you move towards the end. Left the brush to create a narrower finish for longer veins, it's better to start from the thicker side. This way you can establish the desired thickness at the beginning and gradually narrow it down with shorter veins, you can start from the narrow end and make the lines. There's no need to stick strictly to the reference photo. Feel free to add extra short veins even if they are not visible in the photo. Conversely, you can also choose to reduce the number of veins if you prefer. Now, for the green leaf, I'm adding Windsor red into my mix to enhance the brightness of the red. However, I'll transition to using orange. Eventually, applying it over the existing colors will naturally darken. It leaves have numerous details, subtle shadows, delicate color shifts. However, our aim is simplification, not hyperrealism. As I mentioned in earlier sections, the project's beauty lies in vibrant colors, visual textures, and composition. That's where our focus should be. Feel free to add more details and precision if you wish to closely resemble the reference photo. Yet, I want this project to be accessible to everyone. The level of detail we're painting should be enough. This stage isn't overly complex. Patience is key as we paint the lines using oranges and reds. Remember these points. Begin with the main vein, shorter secondary veins start from the thicker side and gradually make the lines thinner at the end. That's really all there is to it. Keep applying these principles as you work on the remaining leaves. Once you've done, we can move on to the next step. 15. Stalks: Now let's complete the leaves by painting the stalks using a size four brush. Begin with the same color as before, primarily permanent rose. The second layer intensifies the color. Next, add our dark red mix, permanent Alizarin crimson with paints gray to add shadows near the leaves. For additional intensity, you can drop in some yellow or orange similar to what we did with the red leaves. Remember, yellow enhances the brilliance of red. That's it. Move on to the next set of stalks. After applying permanent rose, introduce our dark mix to form a deeper shadow. It's a straightforward step, but it contributes realism to the overall painting. For this stalk, I'm starting with a water layer, then I'm dropping in some reds leaving gaps. The paint spreads in the water, forming a soft edge. This technique helps create the illusion of a bent stalk, mimicking the reference. The lighter parts represent higher areas, while the darker areas appear more concave. Repeat the process on the last stalk. Keep in mind that you can drop in some yellow or orange to introduce color variety and enhance the reds. With that, we've completed the leaves. This could be the final stage for the leaves, but if you wish, you can also add water drops. Before introducing water drops, let's finish the water to give it a polished appearance. 16. Water: In this part, we'll finish the water with the base layer in place. Our next step is to paint dark reflections and dark and specific areas. I'll begin this step using a size six brush for deep dark colors. I'm adding paints gray into my palette, Mixing it with a touch of permanent alyzerine crimson. This combination should work effectively for this stage. Load your brush with the dark color and start painting the dark reflections. Using the wet on dry technique, maintain a watery consistency in your paint. It should be dark and intense, but not thick. This aspect is crucial in this section. After placing the dark shadow, I can immediately see that this area is too pale. I'm planning to apply more colors here to darken it further. If, like me, you painted this area without leaving those lighter bluish tones, but wish to create this effect, you can wait until everything is completely dry. Then using a mix of white quash paints, gray and ultramarine blue, apply a thin bluish layer on top to create that lighter reflection. Not only in this place, but also in other areas in the painting. However, to keep things simple, I won't be doing this. Now go over each water section and identify areas where the leaves reflect in the water using our dark mix. At these reflections, this step enhances the three dimensional appearance and creates a better contrast between the leaves and the water. Here I'm beginning by applying permanent Alizarin crimson first, and then I'm adding more paints, Gray. Take note of how the lighter layer from the previous stage serves as an impression of a lighter water surface. As for the larger area on the right hand side, I believe it also needs some darkening. While I appreciate the beautiful red bloom in the corner, it looks fantastic. I'm considering painting over it because I really want to achieve a darker tone in this area. Initially, I intended to create a negative leaf shape. Attempting to paint a leaf shape with my black paint, I mean, it's not black, it's a mix of paints Gray and Alizarin Crimson. However, I changed my mind. I thought it's just the background. And the more critical aspect is the contrast between the leaves and this area. I opted to apply another layer of those beautiful, dark reds and pines, gray. I started with a water layer first and then dropped in those colors. I'm working wet on wet to create smooth gradients and color transitions. This technique not only makes it easier, but also gives me some time to decide on the colors for different areas. After finishing that area, I noticed that that small section in the upper part stands out too much because it's just too pale. I'm applying one more thin layer of color to make it slightly darker. And now we can move on to a quite satisfying and very simple step, which is adding water drops. 17. Waterdrops: When it comes to water drops, I'll demonstrate two simple methods of painting. Them both are very easy, but I believe the second one is even easier. Let's begin with the first method. For this method, we need a small scrubber brush. In my case, I'm using a Princeton snap bright shader size for dip the brush in water and remove the excess water on a paper towel. Now with a damp brush, gently rub the surface of the water drop in the lower part. The idea here is to create a lighter area by lifting off the paint. This area should still have the same color as the surface of our subject, but it's just lighter. Now using a brush with a sharp point, use a darker tone of the subject you're painting on. In this case, since the water drop sits on a green part of the leaf, I'm using a darker tone of green paint, a cast shadow under the water drop and then soften the edge of this shadow. I'm assuming that the light source is somewhere in the upper part. The cast shadow is at the bottom. It's crucial to remember the light source because we want to paint all cast shadows in the same direction. Now add a core shadow within the water drop in the upper part. This may seem counter intuitive, but notice that the shadow within the water drop is on the side where the light source is. The light part is near the cast shadow on the other side. Now when it's dry, use white guash paint. Take just a tiny amount on the tip of your brush and place one small.in the upper part and a short line at the bottom of my camera. Decided to hate me for a second, apologize for that. You can see the result in the thumbnail. I will also repeat this again, so you'll have a chance to see it. Now I want to show you the second method, which I think is much simpler and faster. This time we won't be using a scrubber brush. Start by painting a cast shadow under the water and a core shadow within the water drop. Once again, remember to use a darker tone of the color of the area where the water drop is situated. In this case, since it's on the yellow orange area of the leaf, I'm using a darker orange, red color to paint the shadow. When you paint the shadows, simply use white quash to paint the lighter side of the water drop at the bottom and to add the tiny highlight in the upper part. The difference between this method and the previous one is that here instead of using a scrubbrh to create a lighter tone, we use white gash. As you can see, the result is very similar and both methods are equally impressive, I think. Now I'm going to use the second method with white guash to paint all the water drops. I'll squeeze some gash on my palette and start working on the water drops. I won't be showing you every water drops. That would not make sense. It would be too boring. Of course. I will speed it up a bit and do the rest of camera. I want to mention one thing about working with gash can be tricky. You may notice that when you apply it, it may disappear when dry. In this case, it's a sign that you used too much water. You need to use more paint, a thicker paint consistency. For the highlights, I'm using pure guash straight from the tube or a really thick paint consistency. This way the white highlight stays truly white. The paint must be thick, otherwise it will become transparent. You may need to go over the same area a few times to achieve the intended look. Here are the two last drops, and with them, the water drops are finished. This is how the painting looks after adding water drops. This could be considered the finished painting and you can call it complete at this stage. However, what I like to do in the end is to take one last good look at the entire painting before I sign it. If I see something that I can still improve, I'll do this now as I never make adjustments or any changes or fixes to my paintings after signing them. In the final step, I'll show you what else we can do. 18. Finishing Touches: This step is totally optional. You don't have to do this. But I feel the urge to do this and show you this. The first thing is just a minor detail. With a scrubber brush, I want to lift out some color from the stalks to create lighter spots of color suggesting highlights. It's really just a tiny detail, something much more impactful that may enhance the look of your leaves and introduce more realism is adding more core shadows. I do this at this final stage because now when we see the entire painting, we can evaluate what works and what doesn't. We have a general overview of the entire painting and we don't focus on the details. This is crucial. Now I'm thinking in terms of big areas and the overall look of the whole painting and individual leaves. I noticed that the core shadows could introduce more dimension to the leaves. This is not very obvious, but I know from experience that when we add a shadow on one side of the veins, the leaf will look more realistic. That shadow on one side of the vein and a lighter tone on the other side create an illusion of indentation. It looks as if the vein was placed in a concave part of the leaf. You can see this, especially on the green leaf. Notice how different the leave looks, with and without the shadows. Now, using a bigger brush size, eight, I'm starting with the yellow leaf. I'm using an orange mix to paint a shadow on one side along the main vein. I'm trying to soften that shadow immediately. I'm working on big areas now, very gently applying the paint to a large section and softening the edges. I'm particularly concerned about the area near the stalk. I think that area should be slightly darker. Notice how much of a difference this will make in the green leaf. I'll be adding shadows on one side of the veins. I added the shadow on the left side of the first vein. It's actually above the vein, but it's on the left side. I want to add other shadows on the left side as well. Can you see how much more dimension it adds? We can clearly see that shadowed areas are concave. This is a very simple step, but it's very effective and impressive. Of course, in areas where the leaf is green, I'm using a darker green tone. In yellow areas, I'm using an orange or red tone. I'm also painting around, the water drops. It's important to quickly soften the edges with a clean dump brush. I'm also adding a darker green shadow in this area, suggesting a cast shadow cast by the yellow leaf. It also adds more dimension to the painting. With those shadows added, I'm happy and feel that the painting is finished. Now I can sign it first signing, I usually use a tiny triple zero spotter brush. I always sign my paintings in the bottom right corner. If this area is light, then I use any color that I used for the painting that it matches the painting, and it's not too distracting. If the area is dark, like here, I mix a color from the background with the white guh. I may go over it twice, like in this case because in the first go, I either added too much water or the tone was too dark and it disappeared in the background. I repeated the process again. We have completed our painting. I'm happy with how it turned out, especially enjoying working with permanent Alizarin crimson and paints gray. I absolutely love this mix. The colors are vivid and I'm pleased with the result. I hope you will be happy with your result as well. Now we can remove the masking tape and reveal the nice clean edge. I like to leave it overnight to ensure everything is completely dry and flat. After that, I will cut off the edges with the staples, leaving just a nice clean white border around. That's all for this tutorial. Thank you very much for joining me and watching, and see you in the next tutorial where we will also paint something beautiful, happy painting.