Last week I snipped a couple small branches of my friend’s black oak tree to do some sun printing. The black oak is a native California tree and will fit nicely with the art quilt series I’m working on. I am quite taken with the shape of the leaf. It has so much character and grace with those very deep lobes and multiple points on the edges. The leaves are very soft and supple, bending gently to the breeze. I couldn’t resist sketching one of the leaves along with a feather found during a recent walk. Click on image for larger view.
I was a bit nervous about sketching my first feather so I started with the more familiar leaf shape first. I painted the leaf with 5 layers of watercolor paint to achieve the look I wanted. Between layers of green paint for the leaf I sketched the feather. I used the same multi-layer approach and 2 micro pens to capture this Scrub Jay feather. I feel like I’ve broken the ice with this sketch, so I won’t be as nervous about attempting a new feather in the future.
Super.
Both the leaf and the feather are a success. WE have two types of oak in our yard, one is an english oak and the other a burr oak.
I’m not familiar with the burr oak at all so I looked it up. I found Burr Oak State Park in Southern Ohio; also found images of the tree. Looks like it has very large leaves and the acorn looks almost fuzzy. Very interesting.
Nice!!
Thanks!
Another successful attempt that will be part of your repertoire now. So nice visiting with you!